German industrial orders slump 4.2 percent in February
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FILE PHOTO: A worker controls a tapping of a blast furnace at Europe's largest steel factory of Germany's industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG in Duisburg, Germany December 6, 2012. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo
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Ina Fassbender(Reuters)
BERLIN (Reuters) – German industrial orders fell unexpectedly in February, registering their biggest drop in more than two years, data showed on Thursday, compounding worries that Europe’s largest economy had a weak start to the year.
Contracts for German goods slumped by 4.2 percent, data from the Economy Ministry showed, compared to a fall of 2.1 percent in January, revised from a drop of 2.6 percent.
The fall was the sharpest since January 2017 and confounded forecasts for a 0.3 percent increase.
(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Michelle Martin)
