BERLIN, March 10 (Reuters) - German plant and equipment makers' orders fell slightly at the start of 2025, with demand from customers in euro zone countries mitigating a drop in bookings from domestic firms and those outside the currency union, the VDMA association said on Monday.Overall orders dropped 2% in January compared with the same month last year in real terms, https://f-i.us/ with German ones falling by 6%. Foreign orders as a whole stagnated in January, as a 13% jump in bookings from inside the euro zone was dampened by a 5% fall from outside the currency zone, the VDMA said.
"Uncertainties in geopolitics and trade policy as well as the tense economic situation in numerous customer industries continue to weigh on investment sentiment globally," said VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers. "However, a sideways trend appears to be confirmed in foreign business," said Wiechers, who added that the decline in business in Germany continues to be a cause for concern. In the less volatile three-month period from November to January, orders were down 2% overall, with a 10% fall in domestic orders and a 1% rise in foreign ones.
JANUARY CHANGE overall -2% y/y of which German -6% y/y foreign +0% y/y NOV TO JAN -2% y/y of which German -10% y/y foreign +1% y/y (Writing by Miranda Murray, Editing by Rachel More)