German VDMA Machinery Orders Declined at a Slower Pace in June

German plant and machinery orders declined at a slower pace in June as domestic sales gained for the first time in six months, the VDMA machine-makers’ association said.

Orders, adjusted for inflation, fell 1 percent from a year earlier after declining an annual 6 percent in May, the Frankfurt-based VDMA said in an e-mailed statement today. While orders from abroad fell 3 percent from a year ago, domestic orders rose 3 percent. In the second quarter, orders decreased 6 percent from the same period last year.

“Demand from the non-euro countries seems to have passed through the low point,” said VDMA economist Olaf Wortmann. “There were some surprises from the euro area, although the increase of 18 percent relates partly to base effects. June 2011 was the second-weakest month last year. There were also some bulk orders in June 2012.”

For the first half of the year, VDMA said orders overall fell 7 percent compared to the same period in 2011.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Black in Frankfurt at jblack25@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net