German industrial orders gained a surprise 5.2 percent in November from the level in October, provisional data showed on Wednesday, but revealed a slump in demand from eurozone partners.
Germany has the biggest economy in Europe and the performance of its export orientated industrial sector is a mainstay of activity across the European Union and 17-nation eurozone.
New orders rose by nearly 21 percent on a 12-month basis, the economy ministry said. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a monthly increase of 1.0 percent following a rise of 1.6 percent in October, and the numbers indicated that the extra boost had come from outside Europe.
A breakdown of the data showed overall foreign demand was 8.2 percent stronger while domestic orders gained a more modest 1.5 percent.
Large foreign orders for investment goods such as machine tools and motor vehicles surged by 9.1 percent as expanding global activity boosted demand for German products.