German industrial output has stronger-than-expected rise in Jan

BERLIN (Reuters) - German industrial output rose more than expected in January, data from the Economy Ministry showed on Friday, in a further sign that Europe's largest economy had a strong start to 2015.

Production increased 0.6 percent month-on-month thanks to a mild winter causing a marked expansion in construction, slightly overshooting the consensus forecast for a 0.5 percent rise.

The December figure was heavily revised up to a rise of 1.0 percent from a previously reported gain of just 0.1 percent.

"The positive result in January and the upward revision of the data from the previous months underlines that the recovery of the German economy is continuing," the ministry said in a statement.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Stephen Brown)