German Factory Orders Drop, Challenging Merz’s Recovery Push (1)

German factory orders unexpectedly fell for a fourth month, another setback to the government as it struggles to lift Europe’s biggest economy out of two years of contraction.

Demand declined 0.8% in August, with large orders preventing an even sharper drop, the statistics office said Tuesday. Economists polled by Bloomberg had predicted a 1.2% gain, with just one analyst anticipating a decrease.

Germany’s export-driven industry is adapting to a difficult environment, with US President Donald Trump racking up tariffs and China increasingly acting as a competitor on global markets.

At the end of July, the European Union agreed a ...