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Germany's factory orders grew more than expected in March as U.S. manufacturers front-loaded their orders to avoid higher tariffs, official data revealed Wednesday.
Factory orders advanced 3.6 percent month-on-month in March after remaining flat in February, Destatis reported. Orders are forecast to grow 1.4 percent.
Excluding large-scale orders, new bookings were 3.2 percent higher than in the previous month.
Data showed that demand for consumer goods showed the biggest monthly growth of 8.7 percent. This was followed by a 3.7 percent rise in orders for capital goods and 2.5 percent increase in the intermediate goods sector.
On a yearly basis, factory orders logged an expansion of 3.8 percent, in contrast to the 0.2 percent fall in February.
Foreign orders surged 4.7 percent month-on-month, with an 8.0 percent rise in orders from within the eurozone. Orders from outside the euro area gained 2.8 percent. At the same time, domestic orders climbed 2.0 percent.
Real turnover in manufacturing increased 2.2 percent on a monthly basis, faster than the 0.3 percent rise in February. Compared to last year, real turnover decreased 0.4 percent in March.
The economy ministry said the increase in orders in March was likely due in part to anticipatory effects in response to the U.S. tariff hike announcement.
Given the announced tariffs and the associated pessimistic business outlook, a further weakening of the industrial economy over the remainder of the year cannot be ruled out, the ministry added.
