German New Orders for Manufacturing Increase in October but Sales Lag

German data on new orders and sales are reported only in index form. The index of the volume of German new orders for manufacturing increased 1.09% in October from September, after a 0.78% rise in September. A decline of 1.23% in foreign orders, due, no doubt, to the rising euro, was offset by a 3.29% rise in domestic orders. .The order data reported for East and West Germany show that new orders in East Germany continue to show better growth than in West Germany, however, there are no data on the actual levels of orders. It is safe to assume that the levels in East Germany are still well below those in the West.. Indexes for the volume of total manufacturing sales are available only on a non seasonally adjusted basis. Since month-to-month changes tend to be erratic, year-over-year changes are more meaningful. Total manufacturing sales in October were 1.89% above October 2003. Domestic sales were flat and foreign sales were up 4.46% over a year ago.

The order data suggest an improvement in domestic sales and a weakening in foreign sales as shown in the two attached charts..