Biggest slump in German factory orders since 2009

A sharp fall in domestic and euro zone demand has driven the biggest monthly slump in German industrial orders in eight years, data showed on Tuesday.

Contracts for “Made in Germany” goods were down by 7.4 per cent in January on the month, the economy ministry said. That was the biggest monthly drop since January 2009 and was almost three times below the Reuters consensus forecast for a fall of 2.5 per cent.

The ministry said high demand in the fourth quarter of 2016 resulted in the weak start to 2017. It expects industrial orders to rebound later this year.

In December, orders rose by 5.2 per cent, the highest increase since July 2014.

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A breakdown of the January data shows that domestic demand fell by 10.5 per cent and foreign orders by 4.9 per cent, driven by a 7.8 per cent fall in demand from the euro zone.

– (Reuters)