Factory orders up

Preliminary government figures show that German industrial orders grew an unexpected 3.3 percent in March, driven by an increase in demand from abroad.

The rise - economists had expected a moderate fall for the world's top exporter - is the first piece of hard data to back up the government's prediction that the economy is set to grow slightly in 2010. The German economy is expected to experience negative growth of around six percent this year.

Germany's economics ministry said the seasonally adjusted rise did not even begin to make up for recent months, with orders for goods falling by 14.5 percent in the first quarter. The ministry said, though, that the latest numbers showed the trend had changed.

The March increase compared with a 3.1 percent drop in February; and was largely due to a 5.6 percent increase in orders from abroad. Domestic orders also grew by just over one percent.

The month-on-month climb in March was stronger than expected and indicated that Europe's biggest economy may already be on the rebound from the worst effects of the global recession.

However, the European Commission slashed its economic projections on Monday, saying Europe's economy would shrink by four per cent this year. That's double the figure that it predicted at the start of the year.