Germany factory orders fall in March

Germany factory orders fell more than forecast in March amid a sharp decline in demand from the eurozone, data released Wednesday showed. Monthly industrial order books contracted by 2.8% in March, more than cancelling out a 0.9% gain in February, the Federal Statistics Office reported. Analysts had expected a 0.3% gain. While domestic orders fell 0.6%, foreign orders shrunk by 4.6% amid a hefty 9.4% drop in demand from the 18-member eurozone, according to (dpa) news agency. Orders from nations outside the currency bloc declined by 1.7%, the statistics office reported.