The decline in orders for German engineering companies accelerated in August, the VDMA association said on Wednesday, warning that there was no recovery in sight as weak global demand weighs on industry in Europe's largest economy. August orders overall were 21% lower compared with the same month last year, the VDMA said.

This was almost double the year-on-year fall reported the previous month. August saw a 24% drop in foreign orders and a 13% fall in domestic orders, according to the association. Within the euro zone, companies saw a 33% drop, attributed to a base effect following a high number of orders in August 2022. Orders from outside the euro zone fell by 20% in August 2023. "Unfortunately, there is no turnaround in orders from Germany and abroad in sight in view of the continuing slump in the global economy," said VDMA economist Olaf Wortmann.

However, manufacturers could still rely on an 11-month backlog of orders in July to cushion the blow, the association said. For the less-volatile three-month period from June to August, orders were down 16% on the year. AUGUST CHANGE overall -21% y/y of which German -13% y/y foreign -24% y/y JUNE TO AUG -16% y/y of which German -13% y/y foreign -17% y/y (Reporting by Rachel More, Editing by Miranda Murray)