German Plant and Machinery Orders Declined for a Fourth Month in February

German plant and machinery orders declined for a fourth month in February, driven by a drop in foreign demand, the VDMA machine-makers'association said. Orders, adjusted for inflation, fell 16 percent from a year earlier after declining an annual 6 percent in January, the Frankfurt-based VDMA said in an e-mailed statement today. Domestic orders fell 12 percent, while export orders dropped 18 percent. In the three months through February, orders declined 11 percent compared to the same period a year ago. "The high rates of decline still go back to an extremely high previous-year level, "VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers said in the statement. "The impression that order intake stabilized at the current level has firmed in February. " In February 2011, machinery orders increased 38 percent from a year earlier. Source:chinafastener.com