That Didn't Take Long -- Germany's Industrial Output Slumps Unexpectedly In May, 2014

Yesterday I posted that Germany has decided to "severely and intentionally cripple its economy."

Today we get the BBC news that Germany's industrial production sees surprise drop in May. BBC is reporting:

Industrial production fell 1.8% in May from April.

The fall was a surprise, with the majority of economists expecting industrial output to be unchanged. 

Germany's statistics agency blamed the timing of May bank holidays and weakness in the construction sector for the fall, but said "geopolitical factors" may also have had an effect.

German think tank Ifo said it thought both the Ukraine crisis and the impact on oil prices by the insurgency in Iraq were factors concerning German businesses.

Dekabank economist Andreas Scheuerle said May's fall was a "massive disappointment." [You think?]

"Even if some of this is down to missing days at work... and might be recovered later, there was simply not the momentum in the second quarter," he added. 

The BBC also noted that April's industrial production figure was also "slightly" cut to -0.3%. [Which I guess they couldn't blame on bank holidays.]

The only thing more surprising is that the BBC did not print the quote from the anonymous source who added: "It's not surprising at all based on the cost of energy in Germany. Going forward Germany's industrial production will move up and down on a monthly basis, but the overall trend will be down."