ZCZC
BCN-04
GERMANY-ECONOMY-INDUSTRY
Non-eurozone demand keeps German industry afloat in April
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, June 6, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – New orders at German industrial firms kept growing in April, official data showed Wednesday, powered by demand from outside the eurozone.
Companies reported 0.3 percent more contracts in April compared with the previous month, federal statistics authority Destatis said in figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects.
That was better than forecast by analysts surveyed by Factset but slower than March’s 0.8 percent increase.
When large orders were stripped out, April’s lift was significantly sharper, at 2.1 percent.
Economists watch industrial orders figures closely as an indication of the future health of Germany’s vital manufacturing sector.
The outlook for producers has been gloomy in recent months owing to knock-on effects from the mounting US-China trade conflict and tensions between Washington and Brussels.
Looking in more detail at Wednesday’s figures, the growth came in orders from countries outside the 19-nation eurozone, which rose by 5.7 percent.
New domestic contracts were down 0.8 percent meanwhile, while eurozone orders fell 5.8 percent.
A breakdown by sector showed that capital goods makers reported an increase of 0.9 percent.
Consumer goods firms were roughly stable, while producer goods makers’ order books shrank by 0.4 percent.
“Industry is still suffering from global uncertainty on the back of trade conflicts,” commented ING bank economist Carsten Brzeski.
While the Wednesday lift “gives reason for moderate optimism, it will still take a while before industry returns as a powerful growth engine for the entire German economy,” he added.
BSS/AFP/AU/13:00 hrs