Quotes from Danske Bank:
- German factory orders for January fell more than expected, 3.9% m/m (consensus -1.0% m/m). This came after very strong increases in Q4 last year, though, and looking through the noise of the very volatile series, the trend is still up.
- It is also a bit at odds with the fact that the strong euro retail sales in January were to a large extent driven by a rise in German retail sales of 5.3% y/y. The average annual growth rate of January and February retail sales is the strongest since 2000! Industrial production for January rose in line with expectations and points to another stronger quarter for the German economy.
- With strong consumption growth, a sharp weakening of the euro and improving credit growth, the scope for continued robust German growth is intact. We look for GDP to rise 0.8% q/q following 0.7% q/q in Q4 14.
