German industrial orders surge in fresh sign of recovery
Orders for German-made goods rose sharply in June.
It's the latest sign that Europe's largest economy is starting to shrug off the effects of months of restrictions.
But volumes were still far below pre-crisis levels, according to official data.
Orders rose an adjusted 27.9% compared to the previous month
That's more than double May's 10.4% expansion, and far ahead of economists' forecast of 10.1%.
Orders were still 11.3% below the level of February, the last pre-crisis month, though.
The recovery, led by domestic demand, is still fragile.
That was underlined by a poll Der Spiegel magazine published on Thursday that showed four-fifths of Germans expect further lockdowns -- with half of them expecting future measures to be more severe.
Germany's response to the crisis has been effective by European standards, managing to keep infection and death rates relatively low despite imposing restrictions that were both milder and shorter than in many other countries.
Domestic orders grew by over a third, outpacing orders from abroad.
The recovery in automotive orders was particularly strong, with orders rising 66.5%, though this still left them 12.2% short of February's level.
The economic impact has been softened by Germany's short-time work programme, under which employees temporarily work shorter hours, with the state making up their income shortfall.
