*GERMAN AUGUST INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION RISES 1.9% FROM JULY

Much better than expected (+0.3% MoM). (Bloomberg)—Industrial production in Germany rose the most in almost three years in August as Europe’s largest economy heads for its fastest expansion since 2000. Production jumped 1.9 percent from July, when it rose a revised 0.8 percent, the Economy and Technology Ministry said today in Berlin. August’s gain was the biggest since October 2003. Economists expected a 0.3 percent increase, according to the median of 40 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. From a year earlier, production rose 7.2 percent. Germany’s IW economic institute today raised its forecast for economic growth this year to 2.4 percent from 2 percent, as exports fuel domestic investment and spending. Growth may moderate next year after the European Central Bank raised interest rates five times in 10 months to quell inflation in the 12 nations that share the euro.