FRANKFURT (Germany), Oct 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — German factory orders rose more than expected in August, official data showed, in a rare bit of good news for Europe’s largest economy as it battles an industrial downturn.
New orders jumped by 3.9 percent month-on-month, federal statistics agency Destatis said, rebounding sharply from an 11.3-percent fall in July.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected a smaller increase of 1.5 percent.
Destatis said the increase was driven by a nearly 38-percent jump in demand for “computer, electronic and optical products”, while orders in the automotive industry dipped by 0.7 percent.
The economy ministry said that while factory orders had been “volatile” lately, there were signs the country’s industrial slump “may have bottomed out in the third quarter”.
“A gradual economic recovery should then begin at the turn of the year,” the ministry said in a statement.
High inflation, elevated energy costs and weaker demand from key market China have all been weighing on Germany’s crucial manufacturing sector in recent months.
Germany tipped into a recession at the start of 2023, and economic growth stagnated in the second quarter. A slew of weak indicators since then have added to fears of a prolonged slowdown.
The International Monetary Fund has predicted that Germany will be the only major advanced economy to shrink this year.
Germany’s leading economic institutes said last week they expect gross domestic product to contract by 0.6 percent in 2023. — NNN-AGENCIES
