German Factory Orders Unexpectedly Rise 0.6%

(RTTNews) - Germany's factory orders increased for the second straight month in April, though at a slower pace, data from Destatis showed on Thursday.

Factory orders rose 0.6 percent month-on-month in April, following a revised 3.4 percent rise in March. Meanwhile, orders are forecast to fall 1.0 percent.

Excluding large-scale orders, new orders were 0.3 percent higher than in the previous month, the agency said.

On a yearly basis, factory orders logged an expansion of 4.8 percent, faster than the 3.7 percent growth in the prior month.

New orders for capital goods rose 4.1 percent compared to last month, while new orders for both intermediate goods and consumer goods dropped by 3.4 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively.

Foreign orders dropped 0.3 percent month-on-month, with a 0.9 percent decline in orders from outside the Eurozone. Orders from the euro area gained 0.5 percent.   Data showed that domestic orders climbed 2.2 percent.