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German Industrial Orders Post Surprise Gain

Orders grew an unexpected 3.3 percent in March, which was stronger than expected and indicated the impact of the global recession may have hit bottom for Europe's biggest economy.

BERLIN (AP) -- German industrial orders grew an unexpected 3.3 percent in March, driven by an increase in demand from abroad, preliminary government figures showed Thursday.

The month-on-month climb was stronger than expected and indicated that the impact of the global recession may have hit bottom for Europe's biggest economy.

The March increase compared with a 3.1 percent drop in February and was largely due to a 5.6 percent increase in orders from abroad. Domestic orders also grew slightly, by 1.1 percent.

"The broad-based uptick in demand together with the worldwide upward trend in business sentiment increasingly adds to the hopes of an end of contraction in industry in the coming months," UniCredit Group's Alexander Koch said.

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