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German industrial orders slump

January 8, 2015

Industrial orders from companies across Germany have taken an unexpectedly deep dive despite more shipments to eurozone nations. But the Economics Ministry says it sees no reason to panic over the "temporary dip."

https://p.dw.com/p/1EGVr
Stema turbine being assembled by workers in Germany
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Demand for German industrial goods declined tangibly in November last year, the Economics Ministry reported Thursday.

It said orders - a key measure of Germany's economic clout - dropped by 2.9 percent, with economists polled by Reuters having penciled in a decrease by only 0.7 percent for the month under review.

The marked dip came on the back of a 2.9-percent rise in orders in the previous month and in spite of a 2.7-percent increase in orders from fellow eurozone countries.

No major worry

But demand from outside the euro area was down 2.6 percent in November, with domestic orders slipping by a whopping 4.7 percent in the same month.

"At first glance, the figures don't look that good, but a market response had to be expected after two months of decent gains," said Bankhaus Lampe economist Alexander Krüger.

The Economics Ministry took a similar view, expecting industrial orders to pick up again this year. It also pointed to the closely watched business confidence index by the Munich-based Ifo think tank, which had reported a more positive mood among business executives of late.

hg/pad (Reuters, AFP, Reuters)