Germany’s vital factories suffered a sharp drop in orders in May, in a fresh blow to Olaf Scholz and his hopes of a steady economic recovery.
Industrial orders plunged by 1.6pc from April to May, defying expectations of a modest recovery after falling steadily since the start of the year.
Demand from abroad was particularly weak, with export orders down 2.8pc, according to the Federal Statistical Office, undermining the country’s usual strength in selling its products globally.
It leaves orders down 8.6pc compared with May of 2023, with demand at its lowest level since June 2020, in the depths of the first Covid lockdown.
Germany has struggled since the pandemic, with disruption to global supply chains and China’s weak recovery hitting sales of its manufactured goods, and its reliance on cheap Russian gas being exposed as a critical vulnerability with the invasion of Ukraine.
Claus Vistesen at Pantheon Macroeconomics said the industrial orders are “not pretty”.
He said: “These data suggest that the downturn in factory orders remained well entrenched in the second quarter.”
With falling demand for exports, Mr Vistesen said household spending may be the German economy’s saving grace, now inflation has fallen back.
“Strong real disposable income growth is now likely driving a rebound in consumption growth,” he said.
Read the latest updates below.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiamh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRlbGVncmFwaC5jby51ay9idXNpbmVzcy8yMDI0LzA3LzA0L2Z0c2UtMTAwLW1hcmtldHMtbGF0ZXN0LXVrLW5ld3MtZnJlbmNoLXN0b2NrLXJlYm91bmQtcG1pcy_SAQA?oc=5
2024-07-04 08:09:00Z
CBMiamh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRlbGVncmFwaC5jby51ay9idXNpbmVzcy8yMDI0LzA3LzA0L2Z0c2UtMTAwLW1hcmtldHMtbGF0ZXN0LXVrLW5ld3MtZnJlbmNoLXN0b2NrLXJlYm91bmQtcG1pcy_SAQA
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar