India, April 8 -- Germany's industrial production growth accelerated more than expected in February but exports declined amid rising imports, pushing the trade surplus below expectations, official data revealed on Monday.
Industrial output posted a monthly growth of 2.1 percent, following a revised 1.3 percent rise in January, Destatis reported.
This was much faster than economists' forecast of 0.3 percent expansion and also marked the second consecutive increase.
Nonetheless, on a yearly basis, industrial production plunged 4.9 percent after easing 5.3 percent a month ago.
The monthly growth was driven by the 7.9 percent expansion in construction output. By contrast, energy output fell 6.5 percent.
Excluding energy and construction, i...