(fxcue news) - German stocks retreated after a positive start Monday morning amid concerns about the outlook for global economic growth following recent weak economic data from the U.S. and China, and the potential impact of U.S. tariffs. Investors are also closely monitoring the developments on the political front. The benchmark DAX, which climbed to 23,183.35 in early trades, was down 88.56 points or 0.39% at 22,912.48 a little while ago. Deutsche Bank, Heidelberg Materials, Infineon, Siemens Energy, Commerzbank, Daimler Truck Holding and Siemens are down 2 to 3%. Deutsche Post is down nearly 2%. Adidas, Zalando, BASF and Brenntag are declining 1 to 1.3%. SAP, Continental and Fresenius are moderatly lower. Symrise and Bayer are up 2.2% and 2.1%, respectively. MTU Aero, Vonovia, Beiersdorf and Deutsche Boerse are gaining 1.4 to 1.8%. Rheinmetall, Fresenius Medical Care, Henkel, E.ON., Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Muench RE and BMW are up with moderate gains. On the economic front, proisional data from Destats showed Germany's industrial production expanded at the fastest pace in five months in January after falling in the previous month. Industrial output increased 2% on a monthly basis, in contrast to the revised 1.5% decrease in December, the data showed. Output was expected to grow by 1.5%. The rebound at the start of the year was mainly driven by a 6.4% growth in the automotive industry. Industrial production was 1.6% lower than in January 2024, following a 2.2% drop in December. Meanwhile, Germany's foreign trade surplus decreased in January as exports logged a renewed fall amid a further increase in imports, official data showed. Exports posted a monthly decrease of 2.5% in January, reversing a 2.5% growth in December, Destatis reported. This was the first fall in three months. Imports climbed 1.2%, though slower than the 1.6% rebound in the prior month. As a result, the trade surplus shrank to EUR 16.0 billion from EUR 20.7 billion in December. The expected surplus was EUR 21.0 billion. In the same period last year, the surplus totaled EUR 25.3 billion.