German industrial orders plunge in January

BERLIN (Reuters): German industrial orders fell more than expected in January, data showed on Thursday, but the economy ministry said it expected manufacturing to continue to grow robustly in coming months and support a solid upswing in Europe’s largest economy.

Contracts for ‘Made in Germany’ goods fell by 3.9% in January after surging by a revised 3.0% in the previous month, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed.

The reading was the weakest since January 2017 and undershot a Reuters poll of analysts who had predicted a 1.6% drop.

“Despite the decline in January, the overall trend in industrial orders is pointing upwards,” the economy ministry said, adding that orders were up 0.9% in December and January compared to the previous two months.

German economy minister says EU must respond to proposed US tariffs

Berlin (Reuters): German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said on Thursday that the European Union needed to respond if U.S. President Donald Trump imposes proposed steel and aluminum tariffs and said it would have to file a complaint at the World Trade Organisation.

Speaking on German television, Zypries said: “I think we, as the European Union, need to react because the competency is with the European Union.”

“It seems to me that we need to make a complaint to the World Trade Organisation in any case,” she added.