German industrial orders, a key measure of demand for goods in Europe's top economy, declined in January, weighed down by falling demand at home and in non-eurozone countries, the economy ministry said on Monday. Provisional official data showed a decrease in orders of 0.1 percent month-on-month in January, following a drop of 0.2 percent in December.
Analysts polled by financial services firm FactSet had pencilled in a slightly steeper decline of 0.3 percent for January. The drop was attributable to weaker domestic demand for German-made goods and weaker demand outside the eurozone, the ministry said. Domestic demand declined by 1.6 percent and demand from outside the eurozone was down by 2.5 percent. Eurozone demand, on the other hand, jumped by 7.5 percent, meaning that foreign demand overall rose by 1.0 percent.