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Update: German factory orders fall for 4th straight month in April

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Update: German factory orders fall for 4th straight month in April

German manufacturing new orders fell for a fourth straight month in April, falling short of expectations of a rise and raising further doubts about the durability of the recovery by the eurozone's biggest economy.

Price-adjusted new orders decreased 2.5% after seasonal and calendar adjustments, following a downwardly revised 1.1% month-over-month decline in March, the country's Federal Statistical Office said. Orders were expected to rise 0.5% in the month, according to Econoday's consensus forecast.

It was the longest run of monthly declines in orders since late 2012.

"Today's disappointing new orders reading sends a clear warning that nothing should be taken for granted," said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING Germany. The data suggests that the German economy's soft patch at the start of the year might not be due to one-off factors such as the weather or the timing of holidays.

Domestic orders dropped 4.8%, while foreign orders edged down 0.8% from the prior month. New orders from the eurozone decreased 9.9%, though orders from other countries were up 5.4%. Intermediate goods orders rose 2.5% in April from the previous month, while orders for capital goods fell 5.6% and consumer goods orders declined 2.2%.

On a year-over-year basis, price- and calendar-adjusted new orders edged down 0.1% in April after a revised 2.9% year-over-year increase in March.

The price-adjusted turnover in manufacturing increased 0.3% after seasonal and calendar adjustments, following an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in March.

"For the time being, we remain cautiously positive. In absolute terms, order books are still richly filled, assured production is high and inventories have been reduced recently. All boding well for industrial activity in the coming months," Brzeski said.

Germany's DAX Index was trading 0.22% higher as of 5:33 a.m. ET and German government bonds fell. The yield on German 10-year government bonds increased by 4 basis points to 0.50% as of 5:46 a.m. ET. The euro was up 0.40% against the U.S. dollar.