Germany's factory orders fall more than expected in May

ISTANBUL

Germany's new factory orders were down more than market expected in May, falling 1.4% on a monthly basis, according to provisional data from Federal Statistical Office Destatis on Friday.

The markets had expected the orders to fall 0.2% month-on-month in May.

When large-scale orders are excluded, new orders were 3.1% lower than in the previous month, Destatis said.

The negative development of new orders in manufacturing was driven by various key sectors, with the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products sector falling 17.7% on a monthly basis.

Decreases in orders in the manufacture of electrical equipment and manufacture of basic metals sectors also drove the monthly decline, decreasing 6.2% and 5.1%, respectively.

By contrast, the increase in new orders for the manufacture of fabricated metal products (+18.2%) and the manufacture of other transport equipment (+6.8%) had a positive effect.

Capital goods orders fell by 0.9%, and orders for intermediate goods were down 3.4% in May.

On the other hand, new orders of consumer goods grew 3.1% in the month.

On a yearly basis, however, the new orders were up 5.3% in May.

Meanwhile, the April monthly factory orders figure was revised up to 1.6% from an initial estimate of 0.6% due to late reporting of data for the automotive industry.