German industrial production fell by a bigger-than-expected 0.8 percent month-on-month in March, as cold weather spurred the second large drop in construction output in as many months, the Economy Ministry said on Monday. "The determining factor in the development of total production in the current reporting month was a clear decline in output in the construction sector," the ministry said in a statement. "This was also due to poor weather in March." The seasonally adjusted March fall was the second in a row. March also saw a substantial jump in production of capital investment goods, which rose by 2.9 percent from February. The ministry added that March's unexpectedly big monthly gain in manufacturing orders was a positive sign for output in the months ahead. A breakdown of the ministry's data showed construction output fell 10.6 percent after diving by 13.6 percent in February. Manufacturing output rose by 0.3 percent on the month, while energy production fell by 4.2 percent.