Reference News Network, March 11 report: According to the website of Germany's "Welt" newspaper on March 9, new orders for German industry fell sharply at the beginning of the year. According to data released by the Federal Statistics Office on March 9, new orders in January decreased by 11.1% month-on-month, marking the largest decline in two years. In addition, the total output of industrial, construction and energy suppliers also declined by 0.5% month-on-month in January.
Chief economist of Hauck-Aoefinger-Lampe Bank, Alexander Krüger, commented: "The decline was expected, but the magnitude was shocking. There were many large orders before, but now there are none."
Krüger believes that, for now, order volumes will slowly recover, and the federal government's fiscal plan will inject momentum into the economy over the next few months. He said: "An increase in the number of orders will eventually drive production growth. But this effect will take some time before it is reflected in output and employment." He pointed out that if oil prices remain above $100 per barrel for a long time, it will hinder economic recovery.
Jens Oliver Niklasch, senior economist at Baden-Württemberg Bank, told Reuters: "These data are alarming. Because of the strong performance in previous months, people generally expected a significant drop in orders. However, a double-digit decline has left people deeply disappointed."
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action stated: "At the beginning of this year, Germany's industry showed a clear weakening in orders and production." In the context of the Middle East conflict and the sharp rise in global oil and gas prices, "the risk of a significant setback in the industrial recovery trend is expected to increase significantly."
In January, domestic orders decreased by 16.2% month-on-month; foreign orders decreased by 7.1%, with orders from the Eurozone falling by 7.3% and those from other regions of the world declining by 7.1%. (Translated by Zhong Sirui)
Original article: toutiao.com/article/7615966706372035112/
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