BERLIN (Reuters) – German industrial orders dropped more than expected in August, dragged down by a fall in orders from the euro zone, where companies are battling with energy and inflation crises, data showed on Thursday.
New orders in manufacturing fell by 2.4% month on month on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis, the federal statistics office said. Analysts had predicted a less severe 0.7% drop, according to a Reuters poll.
Domestic industrial orders fell by 3.4% and those from the euro zone by 3.8%, according to the data.
“High energy prices on the European continent are leading to restrained ordering behaviour on the part of local industry,” said VP chief economist Thomas Gitzel.
There was some good news as the office significantly revised up its reading for July, from a previously reported decline of 1.1% to 1.9% growth.
And disregarding volatile large-scale orders, manufacturing orders posted a 0.8% increase in August on the previous month.
FILE PHOTO: Falling demand (https://graphics.reuters.com/GERMANY-ECONOMY/INDUSTRIALOUTPUT/myvmndjzqpr/chart.png)
(Reporting by Miranda Murray and Rachel More; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Miranda Murray)