FRANKFURT: German industrial orders, a key measure of demand for goods in Europe's top economy, fell in July, weighed down by declining demand outside the euro area, the economy ministry said on Friday.
Provisional official data showed a decrease of 1.4 percent month-on-month, following an increase of 1.8 percent in June.
Analysts polled by financial services firm FactSet had pencilled in a shallower drop of 0.6 percent for July.
The decline was attributable to weaker foreign demand for German-made goods. Export orders fell by 5.2 percent, while domestic orders increased by 4.1 percent, the ministry calculated.
Orders from the eurozone rose by 2.2 percent, while orders from outside the single currency area were down by as much as 9.5 percent.
The ministry was confident, however, that the overall trend remained "sharply upwards."
"Orders for capital goods, in particular, has been dynamic since the spring," it said.
Industry was benefitting from strong demand within the euro area, as a result of the economic recovery in the region and the weak euro, it explained.
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