Destatis said August industrial orders fell 10.6 percent from July, far more than the 1 percent decline economists expected, led by a 61.5 percent drop in other transport equipment.
German industrial orders fell 10.6 percent in August from July, the Federal Statistical Office said on Tuesday, the sharpest monthly drop since the start of the year. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 1.0 percent decline after three monthly increases.
Destatis said the fall came almost entirely from other vehicle construction, a category that includes aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles. Orders there dropped 61.5 percent from July, when they had more than doubled on an unusually large set of big contracts, revised to a 129.4 percent rise. Excluding large orders, new business was 0.1 percent lower than in July.
Domestic orders fell 17.3 percent and foreign orders 5.4 percent. On a less volatile three-month comparison, orders from June through August were 1.3 percent higher than in the previous three months.
The DAX still opened higher on Tuesday, with Reuters quoting traders who said AI-related buying was outweighing the weak orders print for the session. dpa-AFX noted that oil prices and euro-zone bond yields were also lower in the morning.
The next German industrial check cited in market calendars is August industrial production. No policy response to the orders figure was announced on Tuesday.