German factory orders decline unexpectedly in September

Germany’s factory orders fell unexpectedly in September, figures released on Thursday showed.

According to the Destatis federal statistical office, factory orders dropped 1.7% month-on-month in September, recording a third consecutive month of decline.

Analysts had expected orders to grow 1% in the period after a 1.8% fall in August.

In the three months to September, domestic orders rose 0.3% from the previous quarter, while orders received from Eurozone countries climbed 0.9% and orders from other countries plunged 8.6% in the period.

On a year-on-year basis, orders declined 1% compared with an upwardly revised 1.7% gain in the previous month and analysts’ expectations for a 1.8% advance.

Despite the unexpected decline, analysts insisted there was no reason to panic over the health of the Eurozone’s largest economy.

“We think that the German economy is hitting a bump in the road with temporarily only subdued growth,” said Andreas Rees, chief German economist at UniCredit Research.

“The performance should be better again soon in the fourth quarter.”