August’s data: German factory orders sharply declined

Official figures showed Wednesday that Factory orders in Germany declined by 7.7% in August compared with the previous month, this development was led by much lower demand from countries outside the Eurozone.

The drop in orders, a leading indicator for Europe’s biggest economy, followed month on month gains of 4.6% in June and 4.9% in July.

The Economy Ministry said that orders from inside Germany were down 5.2%, while those from non-eurozone countries were off 15.2%. Orders from Germany’s partners in the 19 nation Eurozone were up 1.6%.

The ministry said the drop may be due in part to big bulk orders in July and to the fact that summer vacations at some automakers fell in August this year. There was a 12% drop in orders in the car sector, while orders for machinery were off only 1%.