Germany's factory orders declined more-than-expected at the end of last year, on weak domestic orders , while foreign demand logged only marginal growth.
Orders fell 0.7 percent in December from November, when they advanced 1.5 percent, provisional data from Destatis showed Friday. That was the first decrease in three months. The pace of decline was faster than a 0.5 percent drop economists had forecast.
In December, domestic orders decreased 2.5 percent, while foreign orders grew 0.6 percent on the previous month.
As regards the direction of trade in foreign transactions, new orders from the euro area dropped 6.9 percent, while new orders from other countries increased 5.5 percent.
Demand for intermediate goods slid 2 percent and bookings for capital goods dropped 0.5 percent in December. On the other hand, orders for consumer goods increased 4.3 percent in December.
On a yearly basis, new orders dropped 2.7 percent in December, which was bigger than an expected decrease of 1.4 percent.
While the industry had been able to stomach the cooling of the Chinese economy, the slowdown of emerging markets, the euro crisis and geopolitical risks, it now seems as if extremely low oil prices and the slowdown of the US economy are simply two risks too much, Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING-DiBa, said.
Weak order intake in the early autumn looks more and more like a temporary slump, said Ralph Solveen at Commerzbank. Even so, a new clear upward trend is not in sight either, making them still expect a slight rise in industrial production at most and moderate growth of the German economy, the analyst added.
According to the latest Purchasing Managers' survey, new business in manufacturing logged its least marked growth in four months on weaker demand from foreign markets. Germany's private sector expanded at the slowest pace in three months in January, Markit reported this week.
The European Commission in its Winter Forecast said Germany's economic growth continues to be driven by domestic demand, supported by favorable labor market and financing conditions. Growth is forecast to be 1.8 percent in both 2016 and 2017.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.