German exports, factory production fall in November

Both exports and industrial production in Germany fell in November 2014, official data showed on Friday, signaling that the recovery of Europe's biggest economy was not smooth.

In calendar and seasonally adjusted terms, German exports declined by 2.1 percent in November on the previous month, German statistical office Destatis said.

Imports, meanwhile, rose by 1.5 percent month-on-month. Trade surplus in Germany thus narrowed to 17.7 billion euros (about 20.9 billion U.S. dollars) in November last year.

Exports, traditional growth engine in Germany, were hit by geopolitical tensions abroad and weak global economic performance. Investments were also dampened by the external uncertainties.

Another report from Destatis on Friday showed that factory output also dropped in November following rises in previous two months.

In adjusted terms, production in industry declined by 0.1 percent from the previous month. Destatis attributed the decrease to production in energy and construction which fell monthly by 2.4 percent and 0.6 percent respectively.

In a statement, the German Federal Economy Ministry said the industry has "pass the trough" and was likely to "swing back to moderate upward trend" despite the weak figure of production and new orders which were released earlier.

The German economy narrowly avoided a recession in the third quarter last year thanks to strong private consumption. Recent surveys found that sentiments of German business, investors and consumers all improved near the end of 2014.

The German central bank said the economy saw a "moderate start" in the last quarter and Economists expected the economy to continue pick up at a slight growth rate. Endit