Urgent.. German factory orders shrink in September at the fastest pace this year.

Data released on Monday by the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed a contraction in factory orders in Germany – the largest economy in the Eurozone – that exceeded market expectations, as it declined at the highest rate since December of last year.

The data revealed that factory orders within Germany contracted by 5.9% in September compared to August, which was worse than market expectations that anticipated a contraction of only about 1.6%, after recording a growth of 2.9% in August.

In addition, factory orders in Germany recorded a year-on-year contraction of 3.9% in September, compared to September of last year, after the previous reading showed a contraction of 3.7%.

The contraction rate of factory orders in Germany during September is the highest recorded by the industrial sector in the country since the beginning of this year, indicating that the sector has lost the momentum of recovery it experienced last month.