German industrial orders fall in June on weaker foreign demand

New manufacturing orders fell by 1 percent from the previous month, following a 0.8 percent decline in May, the Destatis said.

BERLIN, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Germany's industrial sector remained under pressure from persistent uncertainty in international trade policy, with incoming orders falling again in June, official data showed on Wednesday.

New manufacturing orders fell by 1 percent from the previous month, following a 0.8 percent decline in May, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said.

The drop in June was driven largely by weaker demand in the automotive and fabricated metal products sectors, down 7.6 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively. Both industries have endured months of falling orders, partly due to U.S. tariff hikes on steel, aluminum and automobiles imported from the European Union, said Destatis.

Data released Wednesday also showed foreign orders down 3 percent in June, including a 7.8 percent drop from non-eurozone countries, while domestic orders rose by 2.2 percent.

Persistently high trade and geopolitical uncertainties have kept incoming orders highly volatile, the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy said in a statement. "Despite a slight improvement in export expectations in July, tariffs on exports to the United States are expected to remain high for an extended period, which is likely to keep foreign demand subdued," it added. ■