FRANKFURT: Industrial orders in Germany bounced back in May after a string of setbacks, official data showed on Thursday, suggesting Europe’s largest economy may not face the sharp slowdown some observers feared. New contracts at industrial firms grew 2.6 per cent month-on-month in May, federal statistics authority Destatis said in figures adjusted for price, seasonal and calendar effects. The performance beat expectations from analysts surveyed by data company Factset, who had forecast 1.1 per cent growth after four months of slips in a row. Orders from within Germany grew 4.3 per cent and demand from the country’s neighbours in the 19-nation euro zone added 6.7 per cent. But contracts from the rest of the world fell by 1.3 per cent.
Meanwhile in different manufacturing sectors, consumer goods and capital goods firms saw both saw orders increase just under 5.0 per cent, while demand for producer good fell back slightly.
Thursday’s positive data were “more evidence that the economy could rebound during the second half of the year,” ING Diba bank economist Carsten Brzeski commented.
Expansion in Germany halved quarter-on-quarter to 0.3 per cent between January and March, while confidence among consumers, investors and business leaders has fallen back from the euphoric levels seen in late 2017.
But with a string of one-off knocks to the economy from weather to a flu outbreak and unfavourable holiday calendar, “it will take until June before the economy will finally show its real face,” Brzeski said. — AFP
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