German industrial orders rebound in August but outlook uncertain
By Maria Martinez
BERLIN (Reuters) — German industrial orders rose more than expected in August due to a strong increase in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products sector, data showed On Friday.
Orders rose by 3.9% on the previous month on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis, the federal statistics office said.
A Reuters poll of analysts had pointed to a rise of 1.8%.
The less volatile three-month on three-month comparison showed that new orders were 4.9% higher in the period from June to August than in the previous three months.
The increase in August follows a sharp decline the previous month. The statistics office revised the July drop to 11.3% compared with June, from a provisional figure of -11.7%.
In August, an increase of 37.9% on the month in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products drove the expansion in industrial orders. The manufacture of electronic components was largely responsible for the increase, the statistics office said.
Foreign orders were up 3.9% on the month and domestic orders rose by 4.0%, the data showed.
Despite the positive data in August, Germany's manufacturing sector, which accounts for about a fifth of its economy, remains mired in a downturn.
The HCOB final Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing stood at 39.6 in September, far below the 50 level separating growth from contraction, due to weak demand and rapidly falling output.
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