Foreign demand fall hits German Feb industry orders

By Madeline Chambers

BERLIN (Reuters) - German manufacturing orders unexpectedly fell for the third straight month in February as foreign demand declined, fuelling worries about slowing growth in Europe's biggest economy later in the year.

Incoming orders fell in February by 0.5 percent on the month in seasonally adjusted terms, data published by the Economy Ministry on Friday showed.

The mid-range forecast in a Reuters poll of 46 economists was for a rise of 0.9 percent on the month ECONDE, with predictions ranging from -2.0 percent to +2.0 percent.

The ministry revised the decline for January to 0.7 percent from a 1.5 percent fall.

"The weakening is mainly from abroad," the ministry said in a statement. "Domestic demand is proving to be robust and is still slightly over the level of the strong fourth quarter of 2007."

Foreign orders fell 1.1 percent compared with January while domestic orders were unchanged, the figures showed.

"In the most important partner countries, (the) business climate has worsened significantly. Investments are being postponed there, especially for expensive capital goods," said UniCredit economist Alexander Koch.

Analysts also said the strength of the euro was playing its part and some warned economic growth might be hit later in the year.