The continuing decline in German industrial production. The economic contraction in March was slightly better than expected but still maintains a downward trend.
FxPro Senior Analyst Alex Kuptsikevich notes: The industrial production index in March decreased by 0.4% month-on-month, with a year-on-year decline of 3.3%, showing a downward trend over the past 10 months.
German industrial production peaked at the end of 2017, then declined due to the impacts of trade wars, pandemic lockdowns, and the recent trends towards deglobalization. This indicates a cooling relationship with China, the world's second-largest economy, while generally slowing down.
The day before, it was revealed that German industrial orders in March fell to their lowest level since 2013, at the time of a significant decline during pandemic lockdowns.
The weakness in Germany's industrial sector may prompt further rate cuts by the European Central Bank, thus mitigating the traditionally hawkish tendency of the German Bundesbank.
