Germany’s chems orders, production sharply down in November

LONDON (ICIS)–New orders and production in Germany’s chemicals and pharmaceuticals industry both fell markedly in November month on month, the country’s central bank said on Tuesday.

The Bundesbank’s index for chemicals and pharmaceuticals orders fell to 103.6 in November, down from 109.0 in October.

Both domestic and foreign orders declined during the month.

Year on year, the orders index for the industry was also down from the 109.9 mark posted in November 2017.

Meanwhile, the bank’s index for chemicals and pharmaceuticals production fell to 97.9 in November, down from 103.1 in October.

Year on year, production also fell sharply from the 108.2 mark posted in November 2017.

The base year for both indices is 2015, set to a level of 100.

In related news, overall industrial production in Germany also contracted month on month in November.

The data released earlier on Tuesday raised concerns that the eurozone’s largest economy may have sunk into recession in the second half of the year after the third-quarter’s contraction.

Pictured: Duisburg’s container harbour on the River Rhine, Germany
Source: Hans Blossey/imageBROKER/REX/Shutterstock