German Factory Orders Growth Beats Expectations

(RTTNews) - Germany's factory orders grew more than expected in July, driven by surging demand in ships, railway rolling stock and aircraft manufacturing, official data revealed Friday.

Factory orders increased 2.5 percent on a monthly basis in July but slower than the revised 3.7 percent expansion seen in June, Destatis reported. Orders were expected to rise 0.3 percent. However, excluding large scale orders, new orders dropped 1.4 percent from the prior month.

The positive development was almost entirely driven by the manufacture of other transport equipment sector. Due to the surge in orders particularly in the manufacture of ships, railway rolling stock and aircraft, new orders in the sector increased sharply by 126.4 percent.

New orders for capital goods rose 2.4 percent and that for intermediate goods increased 4.3 percent. Meanwhile, orders for consumer goods dropped 4.8 percent.

Foreign orders were down 2.1 percent as orders from outside the euro area plunged 10.1 percent. Orders from the euro area advanced 12.1 percent. Domestic orders moved up 9.1 percent.

On a yearly basis, growth in factory orders accelerated to 13.1 percent in July from 7.2 percent in the prior month.

Further, data showed that manufacturing turnover dropped 1.5 percent, following a 0.5 percent decrease in May. Compared to last year, turnover was 0.6 percent lower.