German factory orders rose sharply in Feb.

German factory orders surged in February, mainly boosted by strong domestic demand. New factory orders in the eurozone’s largest economy rose 2.4 percent in February from an upwardly revised figure of 3.1 percent increase in the previous month, the federal ministry of economics and technology said on Wednesday.

Markets had the expected the orders to increase slightly by 0.5 percent in the month.

“According to the already significant increase in orders from the previous month to set a clear upward trend in industrial orders in the new year continues. Here, the greater impetus now coming from Germany. The outlook for industrial production remain favorable,” the ministry said.

While domestic orders increased by 2.6 percent, export orders went up by 2.3 percent. In less volatile two-month comparison, domestic orders rose 4.4 percent in January and February compared with November / December, while the export orders increased 0.8 percent.

The jump in February orders was largely owing to a 4.5 percent increase in new orders for capital goods. However, the orders for consumer goods remained flat and demand for intermediate goods declined by 0.3 percent.