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BERLIN (Reuters) – German industrial orders rebounded in August, the bottleneck of the automotive sector has been corrected and relations with customers outside of Europe have recovered sharply.
Workers are seen behind e-Golf electric cars while mounting on the new production line of a factory in Dresden, Germany on March 30, 2017. REUTERS / Fabrizio Bensch
Contracts for German products rose 2.0% after falling 0.9% the previous month, the ministry said Friday. A poll of Reuters analysts had predicted a 0.5% rise in August.
"The strong increase in orders from non-European countries proves that German industrial products remain in demand all over the world, regardless of trade disputes," the ministry said in a statement.
The increase was facilitated by a bottleneck in the automotive sector, born from the introduction of a new pollution standard, the global harmonized procedure of the automobile. Light Vehicle Test (WLTP), for which some German car models had to be approved.
This obstacle overcame, "the positive economic trend of the industrial sector should resume in the fourth quarter," said the ministry.
Friday's stronger than expected data follows solid business confidence from Europe's largest economy last week.
The Ifo economic institute survey showed that German corporate sentiment was stable in September, supported by consumer spending and the construction sector, indicating continued growth, even though the uncertain global economic outlook is deteriorating.
"We do not have to worry about the German economy, even though, in 2018, the growth rate should be slower than expected," said Thomas Gitzel, an economist at VP Bank.
The government forecasts growth of 2.3% this year and 2.1% for 2019.
Written by Paul Carrel; Edited by Maria Sheahan and John Stonestreet
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