Germany Factory Orders

Factory orders in Germany rose by 0.2% month-over-month in February 2024, falling short of market forecasts of a 0.8% increase while reversing from a revised 11.4% plunge in the prior month which was the steepest fall since April 2020. Orders mainly grew for manufacturing electrical equipment (10.7%), pharmaceuticals (6.6%), and the chemical industry (3.1%). In contrast, new orders contracted for automotive (-8.1%) and manufacturing metal products (-5.3%). Incoming orders expanded for consumer goods (2.2%) and intermediate ones (1.0%) but fell for capital goods (-0.6%). Domestic orders gained 1.5%. Meanwhile, foreign orders dropped 0.7%, with demand from the Eurozone sinking 13.1% while those outside the Eurozone went up 7.8%. In a less volatile 3-month comparison, incoming orders from December 2023 to February 2024 were 2.8% higher than in the previous three months. Yearly, calendar-adjusted factory orders tumbled 10.6% in February, steeper than the prior 6.2% fall.