(MENAFN- Arab Times) Frankfurt july 4 (afp): german industrial orders a key measure of demand for goods both at home and abroad were weighed down in may by declining domestic orders official data showed on friday.
industrial orders were down 1.7 percent in may compared with the previous month the statistics office destatis said in a statement.
in april german factory orders had jumped by 3.4 percent.
the figures indicated that domestic orders declined by 2.5 percent and export orders were down by 1.2 percent compared with the previous month.
orders from the eurozone rose by 5.7 percent however while orders from outside the eurozone tumbled 5.2 percent.
by sector orders for semi-finished goods fell by 3.4 percent orders for capital goods were down by 0.7 percent and orders for consumer goods fell by 1.2 percent.
natixis economist johannes gareis said that despite this setback 'we expect the upward trend in the german economy to continue in the course of this year.'
the recovery in the global economy and especially in the eurozone was likely to firm gradually the expert said.
in addition germany's domestic economy was doing well due to solid fundamentals such as a strong labour market which was good news for private consumption. 'nevertheless as indicated by the recent setback in firms' optimism as regards the german economic outlook some clouds may be ahead. the biggest risk should stem from geopolitical tensions which could hamper firms' investment plans as uncertainty rises' he said.
bayernlb economist stefan kipar said that 'following the very good data for the previous months a setback had been expected.'
nevertheless the only very slight fall in capital goods and that second quarter data so far are above the very strong first quarter 'suggest that the positive economic momentum in germany is continuing' kipar said.
unicredit economist andreas rees similarly believed that 'the upward trend in german new orders remains intact.'
also:
berlin: germany could ban fracking until at least 2021 and strictly regulate the use of any such technology in future under policy proposals drawn up by the economy and environment ministers.
economy minister sigmar gabriel and environment minister barbara hendricks in a letter laid out government plans to outlaw hydraulic fracturing above a depth of 3000 metres (9800 feet) for the next seven years.
fracking is a technique in which water is injected at very high pressure into a wellbore to fracture deep-rock formations and extract deposits of natural gas and oil.
germany's reserves of shale oil and gas are shallower than 3000 metres.
it remains highly controversial in germany because of concerns it can contaminate water supplies and damage the environment.
in a policy paper sent to lawmakers in their social democratic party a copy of which was obtained by afp gabriel and hendricks insisted that they 'take people's concerns very seriously'.
'what we want is for this debate to be carried out rationally on the basis of scientifically verified information. protection of health and water has absolute priority' it stated.
the ban would then be reviewed in 2021 to take into account the scientific analysis of fracturing technology by that point the ministers said. conventional or low-volume fracking for gas has been in use in germany since the 1960s.
in principle it would remain possible in the future but would be subjected to 'supplementary regulation' including rules on the substances used the ministers' policy paper stated.
in effect however no permits for conventional fracking have been issued in germany for a long time because of controversy surrounding the technique. german industry notably the chemical sector is backing the use of fracking in order to cut energy costs.
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