BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - German manufacturers received less orders for plant and machinery in January compared to a year ago, largely due to the base effect.
New orders for plant and machinery decreased 10 percent year-on-year, the mechanical engineering industry body VDMA said Friday.
'Since there had been unusually high orders for large-scale plant business from Germany and abroad in January 2020, the bar was set very high for the year-on-year comparison,' VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers said.
'In addition, some companies had longer plant holidays scheduled over the turn of the year.'
Domestic orders fell 22 percent year-on-year and foreign demand shrunk 5 percent.
Demand from euro area countries declined 1 percent and orders from non-euro countries decreased 6 percent.
The economist said the comparatively better export economy for some months, especially towards Asia, checked the decline in overall demand.
In the November to January period, orders stagnated compared to a year ago with a 6 percent slump in domestic demand and a 3 percent increase in foreign bookings.
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