Germany: Mixed economic releases – ING

Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING, points out that German economy has provided us with a mixed bag of data for the month of November.

Key Quotes

“After three consecutive increases, industrial orders nosedived by 1.0% month-on-month, from 0.2% MoM in October.  On the year, new orders were down by 4.3%. The drop was driven by weak foreign demand.”

“Seasonally-adjusted real retail sales stopped the continuous decline since the summer and surged by 1.4% MoM in November, from an upwardly revised 0.1% MoM in October. A clear sign that the drop in private consumption in the third quarter was only a soft patch and not the start of a new negative trend.”

“All in all, this morning’s macro data have something for everyone. The drop in new orders after three consecutive increases will support the pessimists' view of a longer-lasting slowdown of the German industry, while the surge in retail sales will support the optimists' view of solid domestic demand preparing the grounds for an economic rebound.”