German Manufacturing Orders Had New Historic Plunge in April

German manufacturing orders declined sharply on month in April, seeing its largest drop on record due to the coronavirus, federal statistics office Destatis said Friday.

Manufacturing orders fell 25.8% in April in adjusted terms after an upward revised 15.0% decline in March, according to Destatis. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected orders to decline 19.1% from the previous month.

On an annual basis, orders fell 36.6%, adjusted for calendar and price effects.

Domestic orders decreased 22.3% while foreign orders contracted 28.1% in April, Destatis said.

Due to the coronavirus crisis, manufacturing orders and industrial output had in March seen their largest declines since the beginning of the series in January 1991. April’s manufacturing orders saw a new record drop.

German industrial production data for March is due to be published on Monday.
Source: Dow Jones