BERLIN (AP) — Official figures show that German industrial orders rose 0.6 percent in May compared with the previous month, largely on the back of higher orders from its partners in the eurozone.
The increase compared with a 1.4 percent decrease in April. The Economy Ministry on Thursday revised that figure upward from the 1.9 percent drop it originally reported.
The rise in the often-volatile index was led by a 7.7 percent increase in orders from the 17-nation eurozone, which fed a 2.3 percent overall climb in orders from abroad. Orders from inside Germany decreased by 1.3 percent.
Germany's economy, Europe's biggest, has been relatively unaffected so far by the eurozone debt crisis, but it has started to weigh on business confidence.
