Germany: New industrial orders dropped by 4.2% - ING

Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING, points out that in February, new industrial orders dropped by a painful 4.2% MoM, from a slightly upwardly-revised 2.1% MoM drop in January.

Key Quotes

“On the year, new orders were down by 8.4%. In particular, new orders from non-Eurozone countries fell by 7.9% MoM, probably reflecting Brexit woes and continued global uncertainties.”

“Admittedly, monthly industrial order data are highly volatile but today’s new orders were simply awful.”

“Today’s sharp drop in new orders clearly undermines latest tentative signs of a rebound in global activity in the first quarter of 2019. Maybe February was simply too early to feel the rebound. This is the positive reading. The negative reading is that the German industry should prepare for more bad news.”