German industrial output drops for second consecutive month in March

German industrial output dropped for the second consecutive month in March, but improved over the first quarter, official data showed on Tuesday.

Adjusted for price, seasonal and working day swings, production in German industry declined by 1.3 percent month on month in March, German federal statistics office Destatis said.

The monthly drop was sharper than economists' expectation of 0.2 percent and followed a production dip of 0.7 percent in February.

According to Destatis, construction output decreased by 3.2 percent in March, manufacturing output fell by 1.2 percent, while energy production went up by 0.3 percent.

However, the total industrial production over the first quarter of 2016 rose by 1.8 percent from the last quarter of 2015. New orders received by German manufacturing companies also increased by 1.9 percent in March due to buoyant foreign demand, indicating that German factories' production will regain strength in coming months.

"The industrial sector has left behind its foreign trade-related slight downturn in the second half of 2015," said German Federal Economy Ministry in a statement, adding that the German industry "is currently in an upward trend."