German Factory Orders Rose +4,4 % - Most in Two Years in May

July 7 (Bloomberg) -- German manufacturing orders jumped the most in almost two years in May, adding to signs that the deepest economic slump since World War II is abating.

Orders, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, rose 4.4 percent from April, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said today. That’s the biggest gain since June 2007 and nine times the 0.5 percent increase forecast by economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Orders were still 29.4 percent lower than a year earlier.

“Thankfully the worst is behind us and we are on track for a gradual recovery,” said Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING Group in Brussels, who forecast a 4 percent gain. “The summer months will be crucial to see if the global recovery, on which German manufacturing depends, gathers momentum.”

Global economic confidence improved for a third month in June, according to the Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence index. While the government expects the German economy, Europe’s largest, to shrink 6 percent in 2009, Bundesbank President Axel Weber said on June 16 there’s been a “remarkable brightening of the economic situation in recent weeks.”

The euro rose slightly after the report to $1.3999 and European government bonds fell, pushing the yield on the 10-year German bund up three basis points to 3.33 percent.

Exports Increase

The increase in factory orders was driven by an 8.2 percent gain in exports to countries outside the euro region, today’s report showed. Domestic demand increased 3.9 percent. The ministry revised April’s reading for overall orders to an increase of 0.1 percent from unchanged, meaning they rose for a third successive month in May.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=a56hfE3L.xlM

 

Eventually things break down and have to be replaced, but I wouldn't get too excited about one month's worth of data.

 

"Excited" ? Certainly not. Let´s call it a "glimpse of hope"...

 

remember that 4% of 0 is still 0