German Factory Orders Unexpectedly Rise

Factory orders in Germany rose 0.6% month-over-month in April 2025, defying market expectations of a 1.0% drop following a downwardly revised 3.4% gain in March.

Orders for computer, electronic, and optical products jumped 21.5%, due to several large-scale orders.

Demand was also higher for aircraft, ships, trains (7.1%), and fabricated metal products (4.4%).

However, orders fell for electrical equipment (-9.2%), machinery and equipment (-4.2%), and pharmaceuticals (-14.1%).

Capital goods orders rose 4.1%, while intermediate (-3.4%) and consumer goods (-5.9%) shrank.

Domestic orders grew 2.2%, offsetting a 0.3% dip in foreign orders, with euro-area demand up 0.5% while non-euro-area orders fell 0.9%.

Excluding large-scale orders, orders increased 0.3%.

On a less volatile three-month basis, orders were up 0.5% in the February–April 2025 period, suggesting that the impact of US tariffs has yet to be felt.