November: +2.1% m/m, +19.9% y/y

MNI median: +2.0% m/m, +17.1% y/y
MNI range: +1.8% to +3.1% m/m

October: +1.4% m/m (unrevised)
September: -4.2% m/m (unrevised)
August: +5.2% m/m (unrevised)
July: -1.6% m/m (unrevised)
June: +2.4% m/m (unrevised)
—

FRANKFURT (MNI) – New industry orders in the Eurozone continued to
recover in November following September’s sharp decline, as further
gains in intermediate goods and capital goods demand more than offset
slides in new business for consumer goods, Eurostat reported on Monday.

On the month, new orders rose 2.1%, reaching their highest level
since August. As a result, the annual increase widened to 19.9%. Taking
both November and October together, new orders were up 1.3% on average
over 3Q, which in turn was 3.3% higher than in the previous period.

Excluding heavy transport equipment, the demand for which was up
8.5% and 27.5% on the month and year, respectively, new orders increased
2.1% m/m and 19.6% y/y.

Among the other more heavily-weighed components of the index,
intermediate goods orders rose 1.3% between October and November,
lifting the annual figure to +23.3%. Capital goods new orders also saw
further gains on the month, rising 1.8%, resulting in an annual rise of
22.0%.

Conversely, durable consumer goods new business slipped 0.9% on the
month to give a +6.0% annual figure, while demand for non-consumer
durables contracted 1.5% on the month, though was up 5.3% on the year.

Manufacturers cited in Markit Economics’ December purchasing
managers index (PMI) reported the strongest monthly jump in new orders
level since April, which helped to lift the PMI figure to an eight-month
high of 57.1.

Germany and France continued to lead the rise in both manufacturing
output and demand, the PMI showed. “However, welcome signs of recoveries
were also evident in the periphery, where export sales helped boost
output growth in all cases except Greece, where the rate of decline at
least moderated,” Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said.

The European Commission’s survey also showed manufacturers’
assessment of order books and export order books improving last month,
lifting both indicators to their strongest levels since May 2008.
Production expectations rose for the sixth consecutive month to their
best level since early 1995.

German orders rose 5.3% in November to their highest point since
late 2008, largely on the back of foreign demand. National data showed
that the surge in orders from outside the Eurozone far outweighed the
decline from other Eurozone countries. On the year, demand was up 26.2%.

German manufacturers’ appraisals of near-term business improved
further at the start of this year, recent polls show. “Especially in
exports, the survey participants see much greater opportunities,” Ifo
President Hans-Werner Sinn said last week.

New orders in France rose 1.5% and 16.6% on the month and year,
respectively. National data showed a 2.9% gain for orders excluding
heavy transport equipment, with export orders up 2.6%, including a 1.6%
increase from within the Eurozone.

Similar to Germany, manufacturing sentiment in France soared in
January, lifted by a sharp rise in recent output and a pick-up order
books to above-average levels.

Italian industrial new orders declined for the third consecutive
month in November, slipping 2.0% compared to October and narrowing the
annual increase to +9.4%.

Nevertheless, Italian manufacturers’ assessment of total orders and
export orders improved further in December to the highest level since
mid-2008, ISAE reported earlier this year.

New orders in Spain rebounded 2.2% on the month, lifting overall
change to +12.7%.

— Frankfurt bureau: +49 69 720 142; e-mail: frankfurt@marketnews.com —

[TOPICS: MT$$$$,M$X$$$,M$XDS$]