German factory orders unexpectedly drop in September

New manufacturing orders in Germany unexpectedly fell in September, according to figures from Destatis, with domestic orders the main drag.

Orders were down 0.6% on the month, missing economists’ expectations of a 0.2% increase and following a 0.9% gain in August.

On the year, meanwhile, orders were up 2.6% from a revised 2% in August.

Domestic orders fell by 1.1%, while foreign orders declined 0.3% on the previous month. New orders from the eurozone were down 4.5%, while new orders from other countries were up 2.5% compared to August.

Pantheon Macroeconomics said the headline figure was disappointing, but “mean-reversion always looked like a big hurdle for the consensus given the month-to-month jump in August”.

“Looking beyond the monthly volatility, however, the story is more positive. Survey data have improved in recent months, and the year-over-year rate in factory orders is improving accordingly.”