German industrial production rose less than analysts forecast in October, signaling that Europe’s largest economy took a slow start to the final quarter of the year. Production, adjusted for seasonal swings, gained 0.3 percent from the previous month, when it declined a revised 1.6 percent, data from the Economy Ministry in Berlin showed on Wednesday. The reading, which is typically volatile, compares with a median estimate for a 0.8 percent increase in a Bloomberg survey. Output was up 1.2 percent from a year earlier. After a slowdown in the third quarter, the Bundesbank predicted a considerable economic expansion in the final three months of 2016. With business confidence in Germany at the highest level in more than two years and slightly improving global growth outlook, the Economy Ministry said a “certain revival” of momentum in industrial production can be expected. Output was bolstered by a 1.7 percent increase in construction in October, according to the data. Manufacturing gained 0.1 percent, with output of investment goods up 0.5 percent. Energy and basic-goods production fell. Today’s data comes on the back of a Tuesday report showing factory orders bounced the most in more than two years in October. The surge was driven by demand for investment goods and saw both domestic and overseas orders increasing.