Orders grew 1.4 percent on the previous month due to good foreign demand
Despite the second corona wave, German industry landed a surprising number of orders in January. The orders grew due to better foreign demand by 1.4 percent compared to the previous month, as the German Ministry of Economic Affairs announced on Friday. Economists had only expected half as strong an increase of 0.7 percent.
In December there had been a revised decline of 2.2 percent – the first after seven increases in a row. Measured on February 2020, the month before the start of the restrictions in the wake of the corona pandemic, orders are now 3.7 percent higher.
The lockdown, which began in November and was later tightened, is primarily a problem for restaurateurs, service providers and downtown retailers. Industry can count on the fact that foreign business will pick up more momentum with the expected recovery of the global economy. In January, export orders rose by a strong 4.2 percent, while those from Germany fell by 2.6 percent. Orders from the euro zone grew by 3.9 percent, while those from the rest of the world rose by as much as 4.4 percent.
Above all, capital goods such as machines and vehicles were in demand. Here, demand rose by a total of 3.3 percent at the beginning of the year.
