German order book deflation continues
Another plunge in industrial orders shows that last week's positive GDP growth reading was a last hurrah for the economy. The slide into recession continues
German industrial orders just took another sharp hit, plunging by 4% month-on-month in September, from -2% MoM in August. On the year, industrial orders were down by almost 11%. Since the start of the year, German order books have shrunk by almost 15%.
At the start of the year, German industrial order books were richly filled and provided decent anti-recession insurance. Since the start of the Ukraine war, however, this insurance has lessened by the month. Last week, surprisingly strong GDP growth for the third quarter might have given the impression that the German economy could defy recession. This year’s order book deflation, however, sends a clear signal that these signs of hope are illusionary. The long slide into recession continues.