German factory orders declined slightly more than expected in December, dragged down by lower demand at home and in other eurozone countries, AP reported. The economy ministry said Friday that orders were down 0.7% compared with the previous month, more than the 0.5% drop economists had forecast. That followed two months of solid gains. Orders from inside Germany were down 2.5% and demand from other eurozone countries dropped 6.9%. However, orders from outside the eurozone increased 5.5%. The government recently trimmed its growth forecast for the German economy, Europe’s biggest, to 1.7% this year from 1.8% amid concerns over weakening growth abroad and global political tensions.
