German industrial orders, a key measure of demand for German-made goods both at home and abroad, fell in May, weighed down by declining domestic orders, data showed on Friday.
Industrial orders were down 1.7 percent in May compared with the previous month, the statistics office Destatis said in a statement.
In April, German factory orders had jumped by 3.4 percent.
The ministry said that domestic orders declined by 2.5 percent and export orders were down by 1.2 percent compared with the previous month.
Orders from the eurozone rose by 5.7 percent, while orders from outside the eurozone tumbled 5.2 percent.
By sector, orders for semi-finished goods fell by 3.4 percent, orders for capital goods were down by 0.7 percent and orders for consumer goods fell by 1.2 percent.