Bloomberg reported that German manufacturing orders collapsed in January 2009 as the global recession smothered exports.
Economy ministry in Berlin said that orders plunged by 38% YoY, the biggest drop since data for a reunified Germany started in 1991. From December they fell 8% MoM, four times as much as economists expected and extending their worst decline on record. Mr Alexander Koch economist at UniCredit MIB in Munich said that "The annual slump is absolutely catastrophic. The extent of declines is terrifying."
A survey of Bloomberg users on six continents showed that Germany’s reliance on exports for economic growth has become its Achilles heel as the worst global recession since World War II curbs foreign demand for its goods. Confidence in the world economy waned in March as the recession proved deeper than forecast.
