German manufacturing orders fell by much more than expected in November as the euro's record rise hit foreign demand, and as domestic orders showed a similar negative pattern, according to new data from the Economy Ministry.
November's seasonally-adjusted monthly fall of 2.3 per cent, the biggest since June, coincided with the euro's rise to record highs during the month above $1.30 for the first time, and despite some easing from October's high oil prices.
"This disappointment was heralded by the drop in the orders component of the purchasing managers survey in November," said DZ Bank economist Bernd Weidensteiner. "It also coincides with the rise in the euro and one must suspect a connection."
The mid-range forecast of 22 economists polled by Reuters last week was for November orders to have declined by 0.5 per cent on the month.
A Reuters/HVB indicator, derived from data from Germany's most populous state North Rhine-Westphalia and published earlier this week, had predicted a decline of 0.7 per cent.
November was peppered with weak economic data, with the closely-watched ZEW and Ifo economic research institutes' monthly gauges of investor and business confidence slipping to multi-month lows on concern over the euro and oil.
Domestic orders fell by 2.7 per cent following a strong showing in October, with foreign orders slipping by 1.9 per cent.
Orders for capital investment goods dipped by 4.4 per cent, and those for intermediate goods, such as car parts and chemicals, by 1.1 per cent.
In the run-up to Christmas, however, orders for consumer goods rose by 2.9 per cent, the data showed.