BERLIN: German industrial orders rose just 0.8 percent in September, falling well short of a consensus forecast in a blow to those expecting a rebound after August's steep fall, and heightening concerns about the health of Europe's largest economy.A
The modest monthly rise compared with a Reuters consensus forecast for a 2.3 percent gain. Orders for the third quarter rose 0.1 percent paving the way for potentially disappointing third-quarter gross domestic product data due on Nov. 14.
"These figures show things will be difficult for German industry in the winter months of the year," said Thomas Gitzel, an economist at VP Bank, adding that sanctions on Russia seemed to have "deeply unsettled German industry".
August industrial orders were upwardly revised to a fall of 4.2 percent from a previously reported drop of 5.7 percent.
Bookings from abroad rose 3.7 percent in September while domestic orders fell 2.8 percent.
The German economy had a strong start to 2014 but contracted in the second quarter. Some economists expect another fall in the third quarter - amounting to a technical recession - and at best stagnation, partly due to euro zone weakness and a depressed investment climate caused by political crises abroad.
German business sentiment has fallen for six months running, according to the Ifo institute, hitting its lowest level in almost two years, and hard data has painted a similarly bleak picture.
A slew of organisations including the OECD, the IMF and leading institutes have slashed their forecasts for German economic growth and the government now expects the economy to expand by just 1.2 percent this year.
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