German Factory Orders went down in February according to data released by the Federal Statistics Office.
The data shows a 1.4 percent contraction in contracts for German goods, slightly higher than the analyst's expectations, who foresaw a 1.9 percent contraction. This data shows a struggling manufacturing sector, compared to January's figure, which added 5.5 percent. The data still doesn't reflect the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the German manufacturing sector performance.
"In February, the coronavirus pandemic did not yet have any notable impact on new orders in Germany." explained the Federal Statistics Office on their report.
The coronavirus crisis has already begun to take its toll on the German economic performance, as the manufacturing PMI was revised down to 45.4 which shows the steepest contraction in this sector. There are currently more than 100000 infected individuals in Germany and a death toll of about 1,584, and the crisis is expected to affect this year's economic performance according to some analysts.
Most recently Standard & Poor's claimed that they expect a 1.9 percent contraction on the German real gross domestic product, and some others expect a further decline, for example, the BDI industry association expects the GDP to contract by 3-6 percent this year.
By 8:29 GMT the Euro went up against the US dollar, hitting the 1.0811 level. Conversely, it gained 0.08 percent against the Swiss Franc, at 1.0562, and went up against the Japanese Yen by 0.64 percent, hitting the 117.93 level.
Japan to Declare State of Emergency
According to sources, the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may declare a state of emergency as an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus. According to Nikkei business daily the Japanese government advisory panel is meeting at 05:00 GMT in preparation for Abe's declaration.
Reuters also reported that according to a draft they recently reviewed, Abe will pledge to implement an "unprecedented" stimulus package to face the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak in the global economy. It's still not clear how big this stimulus package is going to be, or which fiscal measures it will encompass.
"The declaration, under a recently amended law, will come as Japan seeks to contain a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, which poses a significant risk to life and to the Japanese economy," told Japanese government officials to Kyodo News Agency.
By 8:54 GMT the US dollar gained 0.73 percent against the Japanese Yen, falling to the 109.24 level.