BERLIN (Reuters) – German industrial orders rose more than expected on the month in October, data showed on Friday, raising hopes the manufacturing sector in Europe’s biggest economy started the fourth quarter on a solid footing during a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Industry is doing well again,” said Jens-Oliver Niklasch, senior economist at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg. “The economic weakness resulting from the pandemic is more or less the result of the services sector. And this will not change soon.”
The Federal Statistics Offices said orders for industrial goods rose by 2.9% in seasonally adjusted terms, compared with a Reuters forecast for an increase of 1.5%. September’s figure was upwardly revised to an increase of 1.1%.
Figures from the Economy Ministry showed domestic orders rose 2.4% on the month while orders from abroad were 3.2% higher. Contracts from the euro zone increased by 0.5%.
A breakdown of the data showed that demand for both capital and intermediate goods had increased while demand for consumer goods had contracted.
(Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Riham Alkousaa and Maria Sheahan)
