New industrial orders in the euro zone rebounded strongly in June from a drop the previous month, the European Union's Statistics Office said today.
New orders rose 3.1 per cent month-on-month in June and 4.9 per cent year-on-year in the 12 countries using the single currency, driven by demand for transport equipment and electronics. In May orders fell a revised 0.1 per cent on a monthly basis and 3.5 per cent in annual terms. May orders were originally reported as a 1.5 per cent monthly drop and a 3.3 per cent annual fall.
The strongest year-on-year rise in orders in June was in Germany, up 10.5 per cent and Portugal where orders increased 8 per cent. In France they were 4.1 per cent higher.
EU institutions and economists expect euro zone growth to pick up towards the end of the year after a sluggish second quarter.
The strong rise in orders follows a much stronger than expected August ZEW investor sentiment survey in Germany, the euro zone's biggest economy, and a report from the German finance ministry forecasting a pick up in domestic demand in the second half of the year on the strength of rising demand in manufacturing.
In the whole European Union of 25 states, new orders rose 2.4 per cent month-on-month and 5.2 per cent year-on-year.