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German manufacturing orders unexpectedly fell on the month in December, the Federal Statistical Office Destatis said Thursday, suggesting that the downturn in the German industrial sector continues.
Manufacturing orders contracted 2.1% in December in adjusted terms, according to Destatis, following a revised 0.8% decrease in November. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected orders to increase 0.7% from the previous month.
On an annual comparison, orders plunged 8.7% adjusted for calendar and price effects.
Domestic orders increased 1.4%, while foreign orders fell 4.5% in December, Destatis said.
In November, manufacturing orders fell while industrial production rose, giving mixed signals and indicating that the industrial sector wasn’t out of the woods yet.
German industrial production data for December are due to be published Friday.
