German factory orders register unexpected fall in June

Factory orders in Europe´s largest economy registered an unexpected fall in June as foreign demand, especially that for capital goods, buckled.

Orders dropped by 0.4% month-on-month according to the country´s Ministry of Finance, taking the year-on-year rate down to -3.1% from the 0.0% seen in the month before.

Economists had forecast an increase of 0.5%.

Weak demand from the Eurozone was the sole culprit behind June´s decline, with orders from the single currency bloc off by 8.5%, whereas export orders from outside increased 3.8%.

Claus Vistesen, chief Eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, emphasised how the figures were noticeably at odds with the indications which could be gleaned from German business surveys for that month.

"We expect a rebound soon, or alternatively a big revision of these numbers next month.

"[...] the IFO and PMI imply factory orders are growing about 2% year-over-year, not falling 3%."