German Engineering Orders Fall In December

(RTTNews) - German plant and machinery order intake declined in December as both domestic and foreign demand weakened at the end of the year, the industry group VDMA revealed Tuesday.

Order intake fell 6 percent in December from last year, in contrast to the 7 percent growth registered in November. Domestic sales plunged 10 percent and foreign orders dipped 4 percent.

"Principally, monthly results should not be overstated but we would have preferred a better end for an already difficult year," VDMA Chief Economist Ralph Wiechers said. "All hopes now rest on 2014."

During October to December, incoming orders slipped 3 percent from the prior year, with domestic orders posting 4 percent fall and foreign orders by 2 percent.

For the whole year of 2013, total orders showed an average fall of 2 percent. Both domestic and foreign orders decreased 2 percent in 2013.