BERLIN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- German factory orders slumped in August, as the Europe's largest economy is losing momentum in wake of external uncertainties, official data showed on Monday.
Adjusted for inflation, seasonal and calendar variations, new orders in manufacturing decreased by 5.7 percent in August compared to July when orders rose by 4.9 percent, said German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) in Wiesbaden.
The drop was the biggest one since early 2009 and missed economists' expectation of a 2.5 percent decline.
Foreign orders jumped by 8.4 percent, while domestic orders fell by 2 percent, Destatis said. Regarding foreign trade, new orders from outside the eurozone declined by 9.9 percent, while those from within the single currency area were down by 5.7 percent.
German Federal Economy Ministry attributed the weak orders partly to school holidays, but also acknowledged that "sluggish economic growth" in the eurozone and "economic uncertainties caused by geopolitical events" were behind the slump.
August orders were the latest data to show that German economy was losing momentum. Last week, a survey by Markit analysis group found that Germany's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) slipped from 51.4 in August to 49.9 in September, meaning that the manufacturing activities in Germany was contracting.
Earlier, data from Munich-based Ifo thinktank showed that German enterprises were pessimistic about economic outlook and confidence in September dropped to the lowest level since April 2013.
German government currently forecast German economy to expand by 1.8 percent this year. The country's Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, however, said in a recent interview that German growth might miss government's forecast given the fact investment climate in Germany had been hit by the Ukraine crisis.
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