German industry rebounds

German industrial output rose by 2.4 percent in June, the Economics Ministry reported on Wednesday. The figure marked a strong rebound from the 0.8-percent monthly drop in May.

Analysts had initially penciled in a far more moderate gain, saying the overall economic environment remained highly volatile.

"That's really positive news, " Deutsche Bank economist Oliver Rakau commented as he assessed the June increase. "It looks like the crisis has bottomed out, but it would be too early to speak of a real boom."

Construction a strong pillar

"It's an outright surprise to me, too," said Postbank analyst Heinrich Bayer. "All the more so since there had been fears that the June floods in Germany would negatively impact production levels."

Bayer added it was a good sign that the surge in output was visible in the production of both investment and consumer goods.

"Current economic sentiment indicators are pointing to a continuation of the positive trend," the Economics Ministry maintained, claiming that a phase of weakness in Germany's economy was finally over.

Second-quarter output rose by 2.8 percent compared to the first three months of 2013.

The construction sector, which had been hit by a long and severe winter, saw production grow by 1.6 percent in June, while for manufacturing, the rise was 2.2 percent, it said.

The biggest rise was recorded in the building industry, with production going up by 3.9 percent between April and June.

hg/ipj (dpa, Reuters)