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German machine orders drop in April

Xinhua, June 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

German machine and equipment manufacturers received fewer new orders in April due to weak demand from home and countries outside the euro zone, said the industry's association VDMA on Monday.

Compared with the same month of previous year, new orders in April declined by 2 percent in mechanical engineering sector, a major pillar of Europe's biggest economy. Domestic orders fell by 3 percent year on year, international orders also decreased by 2 percent.

VDMA said demand from Germany's euro zone partners rose strongly in April with an order growth of 14 percent, but it could not fully compensate for the declining demand from other parts of the international market from where the orders dropped by 7 percent.

In a less fluctuating three-month comparison, new orders of German mechanical engineering sector also stagnated.

"The mechanical engineering industry has not picked up any real momentum," said Ralph Wiechers, VDMA's chief economist.

Business with Russia was severely affected by disputes between the West and Russia since last year, according to VDMA.

In the first quarter of 2015, machinery exports to Russia fell by 28 percent compared to the same period of 2014. Russia, which was the fourth biggest sales market for German machine and equipment in 2013, now only stood at the 10th in the rank. Endit