German industry orders surge to highest level in over 6.5 yrs in Dec

[BERLIN] German industrial orders surged far more than forecast in December, recovering from a sharp fall the previous month and hitting their highest level since April 2008, data from the Economy Ministry data on Thursday.

Bookings for goods made in Europe's largest economy climbed by 4.2 per cent, beating the Reuters consensus forecast for a 1.5 per cent gain and overshooting even the highest estimate for a 3.0 per cent increase.

That was the sharpest rise since July and came after a 2.4 per cent drop in November.

The increase was driven by solid increases in both foreign and domestic demand. Capital goods contracts posted strong gains while factories churning out intermediate goods also received more new orders but consumer goods bookings fell.

REUTERS