April 9 (Reuters) - German industrial production fell unexpectedly in February, while exports rose more than expected.
Industrial production decreased by 0.3% compared with the previous month, the federal statistics office said on Thursday. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 0.7% rise.
The less volatile three-month on three-month comparison showed that production was 0.4% lower in the period from December to February than in the previous three months.
Orders rose 0.9% on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, official data showed on Wednesday.
EXPORTS ON THE RISE
German exports rose by 3.6% compared with the previous month, data from the federal statistics office showed. The result compared with a forecast for an increase of 1% in a Reuters poll.
Imports rose by 4.7% on the month on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.
As a result, the foreign trade balance narrowed to a surplus of 19.8 billion euros ($23.09 billion) in February, from a surplus of 20.3 billion euros in January.
Exports to European Union countries rose by 5.8% on the month and exports to countries outside the EU increased by 0.8%.
With the tariffs imposed by the U.S., exports to Germany's main export destination fell by 7.5% in February on the month.
($1 = 0.8576 euros)
(Additional reporting by Cian Muenster, Emanuele Berro and Bernadette Hogg. Editing by Miranda Murray and Linda Pasquini)
By Maria Martinez
