Official figures show that German industrial orders plummeted by 3.4% in December from the previous month, partially erasing a jump of 5.2% in November.
Economists had expected a drop following a large number of big-ticket orders in November, but the general trend continued to improve, an economics ministry statement said.
German domestic orders lost 2.4% due mainly to lower demand for motor vehicles, while foreign orders were off by 4.2%.
Within the 17-nation euro zone however, German industrial orders gained 3.7% in December, rebounding from a drop of 1.6% the previous month.
The economy ministry also released a two-month calculation designed to smooth out one-off events, and it showed a gain of 4.4% in November and December compared with September-October.
On an annual basis, industrial orders gained 20.2% according to the two-month measure, and the overall trend 'remains clearly oriented upward and was more dynamic in the fourth quarter than the third quarter' of 2010, the ministry said.
The German government expects 2011 growth of 2.3%, down from 3.6% last year, which was the strongest rate since Germany was reunified in late 1990.
