German Factory Orders Drop Most in 16 Years on Investment Goods

By Simone Meier
September 6, 2007
Source

Sept. 6 (Bloomberg) -- German manufacturing orders dropped the most in at least 16 years in July led by a decline in demand for goods such as ships, trains and airplanes.

Orders, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, fell 7.1 percent from June, when they gained 5.1 percent, the Economy and Technology Ministry in Berlin said today. That's the biggest drop since at least September 1991, according to data on the Bloomberg system. Economists expected a decline of 2.5 percent, according to the median of 37 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. From a year earlier, orders gained 9.8 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simone Meier in Frankfurt at smeier@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: September 6, 2007 06:13 EDT