German industrial production fell in December, falling short of forecasts and fuelling worries that growth in Europe’s largest economy may have ground to a halt in the final quarter of last year.

Initial data on Tuesday from the Economy Ministry showed production fell by 0.5 per cent month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms, the second monthly fall in succession. The data were the latest in a series of unexpectedly weak figures for the final months of 2005.