After two weaker months, German industry received more orders again in October.
Thanks to increasing foreign demand, orders increased by 0.8 percent compared to the previous month, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Tuesday.
Economists surveyed had only expected mini-growth of 0.1 percent, after declines of 2.9 percent in September and 2.0 percent in August.
Without major orders, however, there would have been a decline this time as well.
Compared to October 2021, the order intake was 3.2 percent lower after calendar adjustments.
"As a result, orders, which had increased significantly at times since the summer of 2020 as a result of catch-up effects and increasing supply bottlenecks, have now stabilized somewhat," the Federal Ministry of Economics commented on the development.
"In addition to the slightly improved sentiment indicators, this is another indication that the recession could be weaker than feared, even if the outlook for industrial activity remains subdued."
Domestic orders fell by 1.9 percent in October, while those from abroad grew by 2.5 percent.
While demand from the euro zone increased by 2.6 percent, new business with the rest of the world rose by 2.5 percent.
Orders for capital goods such as machines, vehicles and systems increased this time by 3.2 percent, with the strong demand for motor vehicles making a major contribution.
The manufacturers of intermediate goods saw a decline of 1.4 percent.
On the other hand, orders for consumer goods fell by 6.3 percent.
The sluggish world economy, lack of materials and above all the energy crisis are currently affecting the industry.
However, the companies are sitting on a thick backlog of orders, as many orders could not be processed due to a lack of preliminary products and raw materials.