German factory orders contracted unexpectedly in September, largely reflecting weak domestic demand and orders from euro area, figures from Destatis showed Monday.
Factory orders fell 0.6 percent in September from August, when they grew by a revised 0.9 percent. This was the first fall in three months and the biggest since April.
Orders were forecast to grow 0.2 percent. According to a previous estimate, orders had expanded 1 percent in August.
Domestic orders fell 1.1 percent and foreign orders decreased 0.3 percent on the previous month. New orders from the euro area dropped 4.5 percent, while demand from other countries grew 2.5 percent.
Excluding major orders in manufacturing, overall new orders grew 1 percent in September from the prior month.
The initial relief after the 'Brexit' shock provided by two positive months with increasing new orders has now given room for realism, Carsten Brzeski at ING Bank said. The German industry is still running low on fuel, the economist added.
Within sectors, the manufacturers of intermediate goods reported a 0.5 percent rise in new orders, while producer of capital goods showed a 1.6 percent decrease. For consumer goods, an increase in new orders of 0.5 percent was registered.
At the same time, turnover in manufacturing dropped 1.2 percent on the previous month, reversing a revised 4.2 expansion posted in August.
On a yearly basis, factory orders advanced 2.6 percent in October. Although the pace of expansion accelerated from 2 percent, this was weaker than the expected 3.5 percent increase.
In the third quarter, new orders increased 0.5 percent from the previous quarter, driven by a 2.4 percent rise in foreign demand. On the other hand, domestic demand slid 2.1 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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