Berlin — Weak demand at home and abroad drove an unexpected fall in German industrial orders in September, data showed on Monday, dampening hopes that factories will make a significant contribution to growth in the third quarter. Contracts for goods made in Germany were down by 0.6% on the month, the sharpest fall since April, after increases in the previous two months. The reading was well below a Reuters consensus forecast for a rise of 0.3%. The economy ministry said that orders figures for the third quarter were still positive. "The brightening of sentiment indicators points to a certain recovery of the industrial sector over the rest of the year," it said. But analysts were less optimistic. ING Bank said in a note to clients that the figures reflected the reality of a sector that had been weak for almost three years, booking an average monthly growth of 0.1% over the first nine months of this year. "The initial relief after the Brexit shock provided by two positive months with ...
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