BERLIN -- German industrial orders, a key measure of demand for goods at home and abroad, rose 3.8% in June from the level in May, the economy ministry said on Tuesday.
The increase, after two months of falling orders, spells a boost for the country's key manufacturing sector as Europe's biggest economy recovers from a decline late last year amid the eurozone crisis.
The seasonally-adjusted June rise was mainly due to some big-ticket orders, including at the Paris air show, said the ministry. Without major contracts, orders declined 0.7%.
Capital goods orders in June rose 6.8% while orders for consumer and semi-finished goods fell slightly, by 0.2% each.
Overall, domestic orders were up 3.3% and export orders rose 4.2%.
For the second quarter as a whole, German industrial orders rose 1.2% after a smaller first-quarter rise of 0.5%.
The ministry noted that "throughout the second quarter, the upward trend in new industrial orders continued both overall and adjusted for major contracts."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2013
