Without taking large orders into account, the order intake in January even increased by 2.9 percent compared to the previous month, as reported by the statistical office. Accordingly, demand from abroad continued to revive – here orders increased by 5.5 percent. Domestic orders, on the other hand, fell by 5.3 percent.

Economic expert Jupp Zenzen from the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) emphasized that it was too early to give the all-clear because the increase in orders was solely due to countries outside the euro zone. He expects domestic demand to remain “restrained” due to the weak economic prospects in this country, rising interest rates and persistently high energy prices.