European Industrial Orders Up 1.9%; German Manufacturing Falls

Arthi Gupta
24 Oct, 2011
New York City

Euro-zone industrial new orders rebounded in August but private sector activity fell in October. German leading economic index dropped in August. Manufacturing activity rose unexpectedly in France in October but Dutch producer confidence index slumped in October.

[R]3:00 PM Frankfurt – Euro-zone industrial new orders rebounded in August but private sector activity fell in October. German leading economic index dropped in August. Manufacturing activity rose unexpectedly in France in October but Dutch producer confidence index slumped in October.[/R]

Euro Area Orders Recover, Private Sector Activity Falls

Euro-zone industrial new orders rebounded in August, Eurostat said today.

Industrial new orders increased 1.9% on a monthly basis in August, offsetting a fall of 1.6% in July. In EU27, orders rose 0.4% in August, following a 0.6% decrease in July.

From a year ago, industrial orders advanced a working-day adjusted 6.2% in August, slower than the 8.9% growth in July, revised up from 8.4%. In EU27, the annual growth decelerated to 6.5% in August from 7.4% in July.

Separately, euro-zone private sector economy declined in October, flash survey data from Markit Economics showed.

The flash composite output index fell to 47.2 in October from 49.1 in September. The services Purchasing Managers'' Index declined to 47.2 in October from 48.8 in September and the manufacturing PMI dropped to 47.3 in October from 48.5 in September.

German Manufacturing, Leading Index Fall

Activity in Germany''s manufacturing sector decreased in October, preliminary data from a survey by Markit Economics showed.

The flash purchasing managers'' index for the manufacturing sector fell to 48.9 in October from 50.3 in September, marking the fastest decline since June 2009.

The flash composite output index, the indicator of activity in the entire private sector, rose to a two-month high of 51.2 in October from 50.5 in September.

Separately, Germany''s leading economic index dropped to 107 in August from 109.2 in July, data from a survey by Conference Board showed. This is the largest monthly fall in more than two years.

French Manufacturing PMI Rises

French manufacturing purchasing managers'' index rose to 49 in October from 48.2 in September. The manufacturing output index climbed to 48.5 in October from 47.5 in September.

The Composite Output Index dropped to a 29-month low of 46.8 in October from 50.2 in September, while the Services Activity Index fell to 46 in October from 51.5 in September.

Dutch Confidence Slumps

Dutch producer confidence index slumped to -3.2 points in October, down from -0.5 points in September, a monthly survey carried out by Statistics Netherlands showed on Monday.