Tag Archives: European soft patch

This is not what we ordered! German factory orders collapsed in April, suggesting that the economic slowdown could extend into Q2. The underlying pace of domestic demand expansion looks more resilient. The main downside risks relate to net exports, in our view. Still, the most recent data releases have not been fully consistent with the ECB’s “hawkish moderation” scenario. A rebound in soft and hard data will be...

This is not what we ordered!German new orders were weak across the board in April, contracting for a fourth consecutive month and by a larger-than-expected 2.5% m-o-m following a downwardly-revised 1.1% drop in March. As a result, total manufacturing orders are off to an extremely weak start in Q2 (-3.3% q-o-q after -2.2% q-o-q in Q1). What is more, the decline in demand for German goods in April was fairly broad-based across countries and sectors.Beneath the surface of horrible headline...