© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A worker wears a protective mask at the Volkswagen assembly line after VW re-starts Europe’s largest car factory after coronavirus shutdown in Wolfsburg, Germany, April 27, 2020, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues.
By Michael Nienaber
BERLIN (Reuters) -Strong domestic demand for consumer goods propelled a bigger than expected jump in German industrial orders in March, data showed on Thursday in a sign that manufacturers will support a recovery once supply and delivery bottlenecks are overcome.
The German economy, Europe’s largest, shrank by 1.7% in the first quarter as restrictions to contain the coronavirus stifled private consumption and chip shortages held back production in the automobile industry.
The data published by the Federal Statistics Offices showed orders for industrial goods ‘Made in Germany’ jumped on the month by 3% in seasonally adjusted terms.
This easily beat a Reuters forecast of 1.7% and came after an upwardly revised increase of 1.4% in February and a rise of 0.8% in January.
Domestic orders rose by…
