German industrial orders fell more than expected in November after surging in the prior month, data showed today.
The new figures pointed to a busy final quarter overall for factories that the Economy Ministry expects to carry over into 2017.
Contracts for 'Made in Germany' goods were down 2.5% on the month, the ministry said.
That was the biggest drop since November 2014 and slightly weaker than the consensus forecast of a fall of 2.3%.
But revised figures showed orders had surged 5% in October, the biggest rise since July 2014.
That meant that over the two months, bookings rose by 3.5%, with industrial orders from countries outside the euro zone jumping 6.4%.
"These results together point to a very favourable development in the final quarter of the year," the ministry said in a statement.
That suggested an upswing in the industrial sector that would carry into the first quarter of 2017.
In November alone, German domestic demand fell 2.8% while foreign orders decreased 2.3% with contracts from the euro zone down 2.7%.
The German economy is widely expected to have rebounded in the fourth quarter after its quarterly growth rate halved to 0.2% in the third due to weaker exports.
For 2016 as a whole, Germany's government expects rising private consumption and increased state spending to have propelled growth in Europe's largest economy to 1.8%, which would be the strongest in five years.
Underpinning this prediction, German retail sales rose by between 1.8% and 2.1% on the year in 2016 in real terms, the Federal Statistics Office said today. They had grown by 2.5% in 2015.
Record-high employment, increased job security, rising real wages and ultra-low borrowing costs have boosted the spending power of Germans, making consumption the main driver of growth in a traditionally export-driven economy.
