German factory output unexpectedly dropped on a monthly basis in October, led by a slump in the production of capital goods, provisional data from the country's Federal Statistical Office showed.

Industrial production fell 1.7% in monthly terms after price, seasonal and calendar adjustments, following a 0.6% drop in September. The consensus estimate of economists polled by Econoday was for an increase of 0.2% in October.

Capital goods production fell by 4.4%, while production of intermediate goods increased 1.0% and that of consumer goods rose 0.3% month over month.

In annual terms, Germany's adjusted industrial production fell 5.3% in October compared with a revised 4.5% decline in September.