Germany economy maintains Q1 pace

Germany industrial production rose in April at a slightly stronger pace than consensus had expected, at 0.9%. This means that production was 0.7% higher than the average for the first quarter, notes Commerzbank. Exports climbed by 1.9% in April. Although this last figure is distorted upwards by the weak euro, the data confirm that the German economy has made a good start to the second quarter. That said, growth is unlikely to be much stronger than in the first quarter (+0.3%).