German industrial orders slump in August

[FRANKFURT] German industrial orders, a key measure of demand for German-made goods both at home and abroad, were down sharply in August, data showed on Monday.

Industrial orders fell by 5.7 per cent in August compared with the previous month, the statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

In July, German factory orders had jumped by 4.9 per cent.

The large swing was partly due to the timing of the summer holidays, as well as the above-average number of big ticket orders in July, the statisticians said in a statement.

Domestic orders declined by 2.0 per cent and export orders dropped up by as much as 8.4 per cent compared with the previous month.

Orders from the eurozone contracted by 5.7 per cent and orders from outside the eurozone slumped by 9.9 per cent.

By sector, orders for semi-finished goods were down 3.0 per cent and orders for capital goods dropped by 8.5 per cent, while orders for consumer goods rose by 3.7 per cent. - AFP