German Industrial Orders off 2.7 Percent in July German industrial orders dropped by a larger-than-expected 2.7 percent in July compared with the previous month, although the decline followed a very strong increase in June. Economists had expected a 1 percent decline. However, the Economy Ministry said Thursday orders jumped 5 percent in June - revised upward from the initial reading of 3.8 percent. July's figure was dragged lower by a 5.1 percent decrease in demand for investment goods such as factory machinery. Orders from the 17 euro area countries were off 7.5 percent after a bigger increase in the previous month. UniCredit economist Alexander Koch noted that large swings in bulk orders have made the orders data volatile and said recent business surveys "indicate a further acceleration in the underlying order dynamics during the third quarter."