Data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed that factory orders increased by 1% in January after rising by 3.4% in December (revised from +3.2%). Economists had expected a 0.9% decline in orders. Excluding large-scale orders, factory orders jumped 2.9%. On an annualized basis, total factory orders fell by 10.9% in January.
Destatis said that domestic factory orders fell by 5.3% compared to December, while foreign orders rose by 5.5%. New orders from the eurozone fell by 2.9%, partially offsetting an increase in orders from the rest of the world (+11.2%).
As for sectors, new orders in the capital goods sector increased by 8.9% compared to December, and orders in the intermediate goods sector decreased by 8.9%. Meanwhile, new orders in the consumer goods sector decreased by 5.5%.
The data also showed that real turnover in manufacturing increased by 0.2% in January after a 1.5% decline in December. In annual terms, real turnover in manufacturing decreased by 0.4%.