BERLIN, (Reuters) – German industrial production fell unexpectedly in September. Official data was released on Friday. Supply bottlenecks in raw and preparatory materials continue to hamper output in Europe’s biggest economy.

According to the Federal Statistics Office, industrial output decreased by 1.1% in September after a downwardly revised 3.5% drop in August. According to Reuters, September saw a rise in industrial output of 1%.

Comparatively to the quarter before, the production sector in manufacturing fell 2.4%. It is now 9.5% below February 2020 when measures were taken in Germany to stop the outbreak of coronavirus.

According to the Economy Ministry, September’s fall was caused by lower production of mechanical engineering and electrical equipment, as well as data processing equipment.

According to the ministry, supply-chain bottlenecks of raw materials or intermediate products which have been ongoing for quite some time now are being addressed on a larger scale.

Thomas Gitzel from VP Bank said that Germany’s outlook for industrial production was bleak because companies anticipate material shortages to continue until next year.

He said that rising electricity and gas prices are additional factors that could impact production.

Gitzel stated that “the coming quarters will continue to be difficult”, adding that Germany’s fourth quarter economic output would stagnate.

He stated, “But it’s also obvious that once the flow of material is up and running again the current situation can turn into its reverse.”