German industrial production posts surprise drop in October

Berlin (dpa) - German industrial production posted a surprise fall in October after a set of public holidays encouraged workers to take extended weekends - but the data did little to dent the positive outlook for Europe‘s biggest economy.Output in the country fell by 1.4 per cent in October after dropping by 0.9 per cent in September, the Economics Ministry said on Thursday. Industrial production surged by 2.6 per cent in August.Analysts had expected output to rebound in October by 0.9 per cent from an originally estimated 1.6-per-cent slump in September.The ministry said public holidays and extended weekends "significantly contributed" to the fall."Favourable order books and above all the more optimistic business expectations point to a continuation of the current good activities in the industrial sector," the ministry said.Monthly industrial order books grew by 0.5 per cent in October after increasing by an upwardly revised 1.2 per cent in September thanks to solid demand from outside the eurozone, the Economics Ministry said on Wednesday.