German industrial orders rose more than forecast in February following a surge in demand from the euro zone, data released on Friday showed.
Factory orders in Europe’s biggest economy grew 0.6 per cent in February after increasing by 0.1-per-cent in January, the Federal Statistics Office said.
Analysts had expected a more modest gain of 0.2 per cent.
Helping to drive the orders was a 5.9-per-cent jump in demand from the 18-member euro zone and 1.2-per-cent rise in domestic orders.
Foreign orders increased by 0.2 per cent after demand from nations outside the euro zone slumped by 3.1 per cent.