Germany's factory orders rebound sharply in December

ANKARA

After a two-month slump, Germany's factory orders made a strong comeback in December, fueled by robust growth in key manufacturing sectors, according to provisional data released on Thursday.

Real new orders in manufacturing jumped 6.9% month-on-month, significantly surpassing market expectations of a 1.9% increase, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) data showed.


The figure followed an upwardly revised 5.2% decline in November 2024 thanks to a 55.5% surge in the "manufacture of other transport equipment" sector (aircraft, ships, trains, military vehicles).

New orders for machinery and equipment surged by 8.6%, while the automotive sector faced a 3.2% decline over the same period.

Domestic demand soared 14.6%, driven largely by large-scale orders in transport equipment manufacturing. Meanwhile, foreign orders edged up 1.4%, with a 6.2% rise in orders from the euro area offsetting a 1.5% dip in demand from the rest of the world.

However, on an annual basis, factory orders were down 6.3% in December after calendar adjustments.


For the full year, orders fell by 3.0% compared to 2023, according to Destatis.