German industrial orders fall on weak foreign demand

GERMAN industrial orders fell by 5.3 per cent on the month in November – their sharpest drop in over a year – amid poor foreign demand.

The decline, reported by the Federal Statistical Office, was steeper than expected. A Reuters poll of analysts had pointed to a 0.5 per cent fall. This followed a downwardly revised rise of 0.6 per cent in October.

Orders from eurozone countries slumped 10.3 per cent on the month, while those from elsewhere fell 6.8 per cent.

VP Bank chief economist Thomas Gitzel said: “This shows how strongly the high energy prices are weighing on the eurozone.”

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany said the development showed that “industry is going through a difficult winter, even though companies’ business expectations have improved recently”.

A survey by the Ifo Institute for Economic Research found that 50.7 per cent of companies in the manufacturing sector reported problems with material shortages in December, down from 59.3 per cent the month before. REUTERS

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