German industrial orders suffer in July

Frankfurt: New orders for industrial firms in Europe´s manufacturing powerhouse Germany fell back in July, official data showed on Thursday, as the economy smarts from a global growth slowdown.Companies reported new contracts down 2.7 percent compared with June, federal statistics authority Destatis said, and 5.6 percent less than in July 2018 -- well below analysts´ forecasts.

Leaving aside large orders for items like aircraft showed orders up slightly in July, adding 0.5 percent month-on-month. Nevertheless, "new orders for industry have overall made a weak start to the third quarter," the economy ministry in Berlin acknowledged in a statement.