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Industrial orders gain on domestic demand

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Industrial orders gain on domestic demand
Photo: DPA

German industrial orders rose by 1.6 percent in October from their level in September, Economy Ministry data showed on Tuesday, slightly below analyst expectations.

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Germany has the biggest economy in Europe and is heading for record growth this year, a track nonetheless supported by this latest data.

Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a seasonally-adjusted rise of 1.8 percent following a sharp drop of 4.0 percent in September. Dow Jones had initially given the analyst forecast as an increase of 0.8 percent.

A breakdown of the numbers showed that industrial orders from within Germany gained a solid 2.4 percent on the month while those from abroad were up by 0.8 percent.

Orders from the rest of the eurozone fell however by 0.9 percent, the second consecutive monthly drop and another sign of an emerging two-speed recovery in the 16-nation bloc.

The overall rebound bodes well for stronger industrial output in the fourth quarter of 2010 however and should help Germany post its best full-year growth since the country was reunified in 1990.

A German central bank forecast last week saw economic activity expanding by 3.6 percent this year followed by growth of 2.0 percent in 2011.

The economy has bounced back from its worst post-war recession in 2008-2009 owing to robust global demand for its automobiles and high-quality industrial goods, and is starting to get help on the domestic front as well.

Ultra-low eurozone interest rates encourage business investment and falling unemployment has begun to underpin household consumption, often the weakest

link in the German economic chain.

ING senior economist Carsten Brzeski noted that "even if demand for German products was to slow down in the near future, German companies have piled up enough backlogs to keep production running smoothly throughout 2011."

AFP/mry

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