German factory orders fall more than expected in August
German factory orders fell more than expected in August, with domestic orders proving to be the biggest drag, according to figures released by Destatis on Monday.
Orders declined 0.6% on the month in August, which was an improvement on the revised 2.1% drop seen the month before but steeper than the 0.3% dip expected.
On the year, factory orders slumped 6.7% compared to a downwardly-revised 5% decline in August and expectations of a 6.4% fall.
Domestic orders fell 2.6%, while foreign orders were up 0.9% in August compared to the previous month. New orders from the eurozone were up 1.5%, with new orders from other countries 0.4% higher compared to July 2019.
The manufacturers of intermediate goods saw new orders rise 1.1% compared with July, while the manufacturers of capital goods saw a 1.6% decline. For consumer goods, new orders were down 0.9%.
Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the figures were "not pretty".
"We had hoped for a better month-to-month print given favourable base effects from the plunge at the start of Q3, though the upward revisions add a slight positive spin to the story. New orders in intermediate goods rebounded slightly on the month, but sustained weakness in orders for capital and consumer goods condemned the headline to a further slide.
"A 2.6% month-to-month plunge in domestic orders did the main damage- especially in consumer goods- offsetting a 0.9% increase in export orders. Especially consumer goods orders to other EZ economies performed strongly, jumping by 14.2%. The uptick in export orders is encouraging, but the main story is unchanged; German manufacturing remained in recession in Q3."