German industry orders rise
August 6, 2013
German industrial orders surged 3.8 percent in June, after a revised monthly decline of 0.5 percent in May, according to data released by the Economics Ministry on Tuesday.
The biggest order increase in about three quarters was mainly caused by a series of big-ticket orders for aircraft maker Airbus during the Paris Air Show in June, the ministry said.
On Tuesday, Airbus said that it had received orders for 932 planes in the first seven months of 2013, some 446 of which were put in during the aircraft exhibition.
The German Economics Ministry calculated, however, that not counting major orders for aircraft, ships and trains in June, industrial orders had risen by just 0.1 percent in the month. Orders for consumer goods and semi-finished products had even declined by 0.2 percent, it said
By contrast, demand for capital goods such as machines and vehicles from Germany surged 6.8 percent in June, adding to signs that the country's key manufacturing sector is recovering from a contraction at the end of 2012.
Demand was almost equally strong from domestic and foreign customers, as their orders rose 3.3 percent and 4.2 percent respectively.
uhe/tj (AFP, Reuters)