BERLIN (Reuters) -German engineering orders fell 5% in June compared with a year earlier, with dips in both domestic and foreign demand reflecting uncertainty caused by trade tensions, engineering association VDMA said on Monday.
Domestic and foreign orders both decreased by 5% in June, with a 16% surge in demand from euro zone countries offset by a 13% fall from outside the currency bloc, the VDMA said in a statement.
In the April-to-June quarter, orders fell 2%, primarily due to the tariff dispute between the United States and the EU, said the VDMA.
“It is not yet possible to estimate what impact the now planned 15% tariff on imports into the U.S. will have on mechanical engineering,” VDMA chief economist Johannes Gernandt said of the trade deal that was agreed late last month.
“At least companies now planning security, albeit at a high cost – if the ‘deal’ holds,” added Gernandt.
The first six months of the year, by contrast, had seen a slight increase in real terms of 1%, which Gernandt attributed to rising demand from countries within the euro zone.
This is “likely a positive sign that Europe is truly strengthening its position as a business location,” he added.
CHANGE
JUNE
overall -5% y/y
of which German -5% y/y
foreign -5% y/y
-2% y/y
APRIL TO JUNE
of which German -2% y/y
foreign -1% y/y
(Reporting by Miranda MurrayEditing by Ludwig Burger)
