German industrial orders fall sharply again

German industrial orders fell again in September as international demand sank, with the country’s economy battered by the fallout from war in Ukraine and an energy crisis, official data showed Friday.

New orders, which provided a foretaste of industrial output, dropped by four percent on the previous month, federal statistics agency Destatis said.

The agency also revised the figures for August, saying new orders fell by two percent instead of 2.4 percent.

The September performance was pulled down by a seven percent drop in international orders.

Domestic demand rose slightly by 0.5 percent.

Germany’s export-oriented economy has been hammered in recent months by the fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has exacerbated supply chain woes and pushed up energy prices across the continent.

“The long slide into recession continues,” said ING analyst Carsten Brzeski.

The government expects Europe’s biggest economy to shrink by 0.4 percent next year.