Germany: Industrial glitch continues - ING

German new orders provide additional evidence of a weak start for the industrial in the first quarter, notes Carsten Brzeski, Chief Economist at ING.

Key Quotes

“After the sharp drop in January (-3.9% month-on-month), new orders rebounded only marginally in February, increasing by a meagre 0.3% MoM.”

“On the year, new orders were up by 3.5%. Last year, new orders increased by 0.6% MoM on a monthly average, entirely driven by foreign demand (monthly average of 1.0% MoM). The trend of the first two months of the new year is obviously disappointing. Domestic new orders have now been dropping for two consecutive months.”

“Given the recent weakening of confidence indicators combined with temporary and seasonal effects, the German economy could lose some steam in the second half of the year.”