German industry is once again receiving fewer orders than in the previous month. © Rolf Vennenbernd / dpa
German industry is once again receiving fewer orders than in the previous month. For economists, this is a nasty surprise: the technical recession in winter was apparently not a slip-up.
Berlin – In April, German industry surprisingly had to put up with another drop in orders. Orders fell by 0.4 percent compared to the previous month, the Federal Statistical Office announced on Tuesday. Economists polled by the Reuters news agency, on the other hand, had expected an increase of 3.0 percent after March saw the largest decline in orders since the virus pandemic in April 10 at 9.2020 percent.
Expert: "The technical recession in the winter half-year was not a slip-up"
Domestic orders rose by 1.6 percent in April compared to the previous month, while foreign demand fell by 1.8 percent. Orders for capital goods and consumer goods were both lower than in the previous month. Orders for intermediate goods, on the other hand, increased. Above all, large orders were responsible for the burden. Without this volatile component, total orders would have risen by 1.4 percent.
"Despite the slump in March, new orders did not recover in April, contrary to expectations," commented Commerzbank Chief Economist Jörg Krämer. This is a bad signal. "The technical recession in the winter half-year was not a slip-up." Together with the global interest rate hikes, there is much to suggest that the German economy will shrink again in the second half of the year.
Ministry of Economic Affairs: Industry suffers from "weak global economy"
"The export-oriented German economy is suffering particularly from the still weak global economy and the decline in orders from the euro area," the Federal Ministry of Economics also explained. Domestic demand, on the other hand, remains comparatively stable. "Overall, however, the weak new orders do not yet point to short-term growth impulses for industrial production." (REUTERS, lf, with dpa)
