German industrial orders slide in June

BERLIN

German industrial orders dipped in June, official figures published yesterday showed, as Europe’s largest economy faced the threat of a recession in the months to come.

New orders -- which usually provide a foretaste of industrial output - fell by 0.4 percent in June from the previous month, the federal statistics agency Destatis calculated.

The previous month’s reading was revised to show a drop of 0.2 percent, having previously shown a small improvement.
The switch meant Germany had now seen industrial orders drop for five consecutive months.

The overall drop was “mostly due” to a 4.3 percent decline in the volume of orders from outside the eurozone, Destatis said.
Meanwhile, orders from within the eurozone and Germany rose by 3.4 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.

Orders for capital goods used in production fell by 1.8 percent, while those of intermediate and consumer goods rose by 1.2 and 1.7 percent.

The downwards turn in many economic indicators has led analysts to warn of a downturn in Germany.

Increasing pessimism among businesses suggested Germany was “on the cusp of a recession”, said Ifo Institute president Clemens Fuest.

The German economy stagnated between April and June, registering growth of zero percent, according to official figures published last week.