Manufacturing orders in Germany slumped by more than expected in the last month of 2010, breaking a string of strong industrial data for the leading eurozone economy, according to The Wall Street Journal. The German economics ministry reported on Monday that new manufacturing orders dropped 3.4% in December, led by a 4.2% drop in overall foreign orders and an 8.9% drop in orders from countries outside of the eurozone.
The data showed that the big drop was “influenced by below-average big-ticket orders and a fall in orders for vehicles,” although the official report stated that the trend for the industry “remains clearly oriented upward.” Alexander Koch of Unicredit said the correction was “widely anticipated” due to a big increase in orders in during November. Year-over-year orders were found higher by an unadjusted 22.3%, up from a 21.6% annual gain in the previous month.
