Factory orders for the sixteen countries using the euro in the last month of 2010 jumped unexpectedly, with growth in France and Italy outweighing slack from a slowdown in Germany, according to The Wall Street Journal. On Wednesday, the European Union reported that new industrial orders for the eurozone added 2.1% in December from the previous month, which drastically contrasted economists’ expectations for a 1.3% drop. Year-over-year, orders were up 18.5%, outpacing economists forecast for a 15.7% annual rise.
The surprisingly strong data was roughly level with the 2.2% monthly and 20% annual growth seen in November, and came despite a 2.9% drop in German factory orders. France posted a 7.5% jump in orders and Italy saw a 9.1% increase, which more than offset a steep decline in big-ticket orders in the region-leading German industrial sector. Industrial orders excluding heavy transport equipment were up 1.3% on the month and 18.9% year-over-year, although both figures are slightly lower than the previous month’s mark.
