German factory orders boosted by foreign demand

German factory orders rose more than expected in January, underpinned by foreign demand, according to figures released by Destatis on Monday.

Orders were up 1.8% on the month following a revised 3% jump in December, beating expectations for a 1% increase. On the year, factory orders rose 7.3% in January following a revised 5.9% the month before and versus expectations of a 5.4% increase.

Compared to February 2020, a month before Covid-related restrictions kicked in, new orders were 11.9% higher in seasonally and calendar adjusted terms.

Foreign orders rose 9.4% in January on the previous month, with new orders from the non-euro are up 17%, while eurozone orders fell 2.6%. Domestic orders declined 8.3% on the month.

The producers of capital goods a 5.5% jump in orders, while intermediate goods makers saw new orders fall 2.6% on the month in January. Consumer goods manufacturers saw a 4.6% decline in orders.