German industrial output skips a beat in July

Industrial production in Germany failed to recover in July from a slide the previous month, official data showed on Thursday, with a flat result disappointing analysts' hopes for a return to growth.

Overall, firms produced the same amount in July as the previous month, federal statistics authority Destatis said in preliminary figures adjusted for price, seasonal and calendar effects.

June saw a 1.1-percent fall in production, Destatis also confirmed.

Analysts surveyed by data company Factset had expected an increase of 0.5 percent month-on-month in July.

Looking to a breakdown of different types of goods, consumer goods and capital goods makers both saw output fall 0.3 percent compared with June.

And energy firms generated 4.7 percent less.

Meanwhile, producer goods firms' output grew 1.4 percent and construction added 0.5 percent.

"Industrial production grew continuously in the first five months of the year. Some pause in this trend was bound to happen," said analyst Carsten Brzeski of ING Diba bank, pointing also to an unexpected fall in industrial orders in July.

"Looking ahead, the prospects for German industry remain rosy, at least for the short term," he added.

In its own comment, the economy ministry in Berlin highlighted that surveys of business, investor and consumer confidence point to healthy months ahead for Germany.