Germany's industrial production rose slightly in June, marking its third consecutive monthly increase and providing further signs that the country's struggling manufacturing sector may be stabilizing, official data showed on Friday.
Industrial production increased by 0.2% month-on-month, following a revised 0.7% rise in May, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Economists had expected output to remain unchanged.
The increase was driven in large part by the automotive industry, where production climbed by 3.6% from the previous month.
Output of other transport equipment, including aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles, jumped by 8.4%. By contrast, mechanical engineering production fell by 3.9%, weighing on the overall result.
Excluding energy and construction, industrial production was unchanged from May and fell by 0.8% compared with June last year.
Consumer goods production rose by 1% month-on-month, while output of capital goods increased by 0.2%. Production of intermediate goods fell by 0.9%.
Outside industry, energy production climbed by 1.9%, while construction output edged up by 0.1%.
Compared with the same month last year, overall industrial production fell by 0.1%, after remaining unchanged year-on-year in May.
"The industrial downturn now appears to be over," said Jens-Oliver Niklasch, an economist at German regional bank LBBW. "We have achieved a certain degree of stability."
Niklasch said recent economic data offered grounds for cautious optimism heading into the second half of the year, although geopolitical tensions, energy supplies and low water levels remained risks.
"The low level of gas storage facilities is likely to attract increasing attention soon, and who knows what consequences the low water levels in major rivers will have," he said.
"All in all, however, things looked worse four or five months ago than they do today."
The latest production figures offer another encouraging sign for Europe's largest economy. Germany's economy grew by 0.2% in the second quarter despite the economic fallout from the Iran war.
Leading economists expect the economy to record modest growth over 2026 as a whole.