German industrial orders slump
January 8, 2015Demand 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)