Top Stories
German engineering orders deepen decline in March, reports VDMA
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
BERLIN (Reuters) – German manufacturers deepened a decline in their order books in March, but economists pointed to a high comparative base of the previous year’s period and hinted at potential signs of easing, the VDMA association reported on Friday.
BERLIN (Reuters) – German manufacturers deepened a decline in their order books in March, but economists pointed to a high comparative base of the previous year’s period and hinted at potential signs of easing, the VDMA association reported on Friday.
Orders fell by 17% in real terms year-on-year in March, but March last year saw the biggest number of orders of the entire year.
“It therefore comes as no surprise that the decline in orders was greater in this month than in the first two months of this year,” VDMA’s economic expert Olaf Wortmann said.
Furthermore, such a sharp decline might be a sign of the downward trend bottoming out, Wortmann added.
“If you look at the monthly figures along the curve, they confirm our assessment that foreign orders have bottomed out,” he said.
Foreign orders fell 15% year-on-year, while the German ones posted a 23% slump in March.
In the less volatile three-month period from January to March, orders fell by 13%.
However, it is still too early to see some substantial signs of relief, as global conflicts and rising protectionism continue to weigh heavily on the world’s economy thus hindering investments, Wortmann said.
March CHANGE
overall -17% y/y
of which German -23% y/y
foreign -15% y/y
JAN TO MARCH -13% y/y
of which German -16% y/y
foreign -12% y/y
(Reporting by Andrey Sychev; Editing by Miranda Murray)
Economic growth refers to the increase in the production of goods and services in an economy over a period of time, typically measured as the percentage increase in real GDP.
Financial markets are platforms where buyers and sellers engage in the trade of assets such as stocks, bonds, currencies, and derivatives, facilitating the flow of capital and investment.
Business investment refers to the expenditure by firms on capital goods, such as machinery and equipment, that are used to produce goods and services, contributing to economic growth.
Explore more articles in the Top Stories category
