GERMAN industrial orders rose more than expected in March due to buoyant foreign demand especially from countries outside the eurozone, data showed yesterday, in a sign that a solid start to the year for Europe’s biggest economy may extend into the second quarter.

    Contracts for “Made in Germany” goods were up 1.9 percent on the month, the biggest increase since last June, the Economy Ministry said.

    While domestic orders fell by 1.2 percent, foreign demand rose by 4.3 percent, with orders from eurozone countries edging up by 1.1 percent and bookings from countries outside the currency bloc soaring by 6.2 percent.

    “The solid economic development in the United States is currently an important pillar of [German] domestic industry,” said VP Bank economist Thomas Gitzel, adding that companies also seemed to be benefiting from recent positive economic news from China.

    “So after today’s data, we all can breathe easily,” he said.

    Dirk Schlotboeller, economist at DIHK Chambers of Commerce, said that weak domestic investment remained a problem for the German economy. “Domestic orders are again disappointing, the trend is still pointing downward,” Schlotboeller said.

    A breakdown for sectors showed bookings for capital goods and consumer products surged, while demand for intermediate goods was weaker than in February.

    The data for February were revised up to a fall of 0.8 percent from a previously reported drop of 1.2 percent.

    For the whole first quarter, industrial orders rose by 0.5 percent on the quarter, with bookings from abroad increasing by 2 percent and domestic orders falling by 1.3 percent.

    The surprisingly strong March figure suggests that industrial output is likely to pick up in the coming months after making a solid start to the year.

    “Despite the overcast foreign trade environment, German industry was able to post a noticeable increase in orders from abroad,” the Economy Ministry said. (SD-Agencies)