New orders to German manufacturers of pig iron, crude steel and ferroalloys were in February 8.1% weaker month-on-month, moving in sync with several consumer segments, provisional data by the federal statistics office (Destatis) showed.
The official index of steel order values shed 9.4 points to 106.8 points, adjusted for seasonal and working-day effects, with new domestic business softening 7.6% and export demand dropping 9.3%. Against the prior year, orders were 8.6% lower.
While order intakes at makers of steel tubes, pipes, hollow profiles and fittings remained particularly volatile with a 63% on-month jump, after January's 19% drop, demand for other products at the first iron and steel processing stage fell 8.5%. This included a 14.7% drop for cold-rolled narrow strip and a 5.6% decline for bright bars, while orders for cold-formed sections were steady and for cold-drawn wire firmed 5.6%.
Demand for iron and steel casting decreased by 4.9% and 7.9%, respectively.
Among major end users, weaker business was recorded at engineering companies (-4.9%) and makers of fabricated metals products (-1.6%), based on the official data. In addition, Markit's February survey among purchasing managers indicated a sharp decline in construction orders amid poor weather conditions. But makers of vehicles and components posted an export-driven increase of 1.6%, according to Destatis.
Source: Platts