Factory orders dropped 1.4% in July from a month ago, which was the biggest fall since January when they slid 2.6%, data from Destatis revealed Friday.
Advertisement
Provisional official data showed a decrease of 1.4 percent month-on-month, following an increase of 1.8 percent in June.
In July, domestic orders increased 4.1% from the prior month.
Orders from the eurozone rose by 2.2 percent, while orders from outside the single currency area were down by as much as 9.5 percent. “If you lose a lot of money, you don’t buy a Porsche”.
UniCredit economist Andreas Rees says the July drop, greater than the 0.6 percent drop predicted by analysts, seems more of a “technical breather after a strong rally” than a matter for concern.
Other data has been broadly positive, with German retail sales climbing at the strongest pace in nine months in July and private sector growth picking up.
In August, German business morale rose, but the exports that drove a second-quarter expansion may falter later this year if China’s slowdown hits Europe’s largest economy, the Ifo economic institute said.
A drop in orders from outside the euro zone could suggest that the problems in the emerging markets are increasingly affecting German businesses, economists at Commerzbank said.
Advertisement
Orders data for June were also revised down to show a monthly increase of 1.8%, compared with the 2.0% gain previously reported.
