Germany's manufacturing sector made a solid start to the second quarter, with output rising markedly and at a quicker pace than in March. However, the rate of production growth remained well below the highs seen at the turn of the year, and both new order inflows and job creation continued to wane from their recent elevated levels.

The headline IHS Markit/BME Germany Manufacturing PMI - a single-figure snapshot of the performance of the manufacturing economy - dipped to 58.1 in April, down fractionally from 58.2 in March and its lowest reading for nine months.