German industrial orders fall more than expected in November

BERLIN (Reuters) -German industrial orders saw their sharpest drop in more than a year in November on falling foreign demand, decreasing by 5.3% on the month on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis, the federal statistics office said on Friday.

A Reuters poll of analysts had pointed to a 0.5% fall, after a downwardly revised rise of 0.6% in October.

Orders from eurozone countries slumped by 10.3% on the month, while those from outside the eurozone fell by 6.8%.

"This shows how strongly the high energy prices are weighing on the eurozone," said VP Bank chief economist Thomas Gitzel.

The development shows that "industry is going through a difficult winter, even though companies' business expectations have improved recently," said the economy ministry.

A survey by the Ifo economic institute found that 50.7% of companies in the manufacturing sectors reported problems with material shortages in December, down from 59.3% the month before.

The statistics office publishes a statement with more economic data.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray, Rene Wagner and Kirsti KnolleEditing by Paul Carrel)