New orders to German chemical producers recovered in October 2.5% from weakness in September as export demand picked up again, preliminary data by the federal statistics office showed Thursday.
Foreign orders bounced back 4.6% from a 3.5% fall in the preceding month, whereas domestic demand softened 0.3% in value terms, adjusted for seasonal, calendar and price effects. New business from buyers within the euro area increased by 2.5% and from other foreign countries jumped 6.4%.
Orders for base chemicals were up 3.3% month-on-month, fully reversing September's 3.3% decline, on the back of a 6.3% increase in export demand and a 0.6% decline on the domestic front, according to the initial data.
Across Germany's entire manufacturing sector, new order activity rebounded 3.9% after two successive declines, underscored by gains in the capital goods (4.5%) and in the intermediate goods (3.4%) segment.
Over the first ten months of 2012, the value of firm chemical orders was 3.9% lower than in the corresponding prior-year period, encompassing a 4.3% decline in domestic and a 3.4% decrease in foreign new business.
The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) Thursday said that the weakness of the automotive and construction sector would have been "a drag" on European chemical demand in the year to date, given the expiry of public scrapping schemes and surplus capacity respectively.
The group predicted a 2% annual decline for EU output this year and a 0.5% increase for 2013. Germany is Europe's largest producer of chemicals.
