FRANKFURT—German manufacturers saw orders drop sharply in February, increasing the likelihood that Europe’s flagship economy could contract in the first half of 2019 in a setback for a weakened continent. Total orders for the sector dropped 4.2% from January, Germany’s statistics office said Thursday, missing forecasts by a large margin. Compared with February 2018, order volumes were down a steep 8.4%.

Source: Wall Street Journal April 04, 2019 13:41 UTC