FILE PHOTO: Employees work on electric cargo bicycles at the production plant of e-bike manufacturer Riese & Mueller in Muehltal near Darmstadt, Germany, August 30, 2019. Picture taken August 30, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo
January 8, 2020
BERLIN (Reuters) – German industrial orders fell unexpectedly in November on weak foreign demand, data showed on Wednesday, suggesting that a manufacturing slump will continue to hamper overall growth in Europe’s largest economy.
Contracts for ‘Made in Germany’ goods decreased by 1.3% from the previous month, posting the steepest drop since July, data from the Economy Ministry showed. That confounded the Reuters consensus forecast for a 0.3% rise.
The reading for October was revised up, however, to a rise of 0.2% from a previously reported fall of 0.4%.
Without bulk orders, industrial orders rose 1.0% in November, the economy ministry said, adding that the sector’s incoming orders had stabilized at a low level in recent months.
“At the same time, business expectations in manufacturing have brightened somewhat. So the outlook for industrial activity has improved a bit,” the ministry said.
German business morale hit a six-month high in December, a survey by the Ifo institute showed last month, suggesting that the German economy picked up in the fourth quarter despite the manufacturing crisis.
(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Michelle Martin)
