The German demand for capital goods at home experienced a slide in May. The decrease was at 1.3% that underscored fragility in Europe's biggest economy. The second monthly drop was in seasonally and price adjusted order intake. This was forecasted in a poll from Reuters of 37 economists for a 1.2% rise. It was a steeper fall than even the lowest forecast for a 0.7% slide.

German companies held back on investments since the euro zone's debt crisis in 2011. Recent data has painted a mixed picture of the economy in Germany. This held up well in the first few years of the euro zone's debt dilemma but shrank by the end of 2012. This resulted to a narrowing of recession in the first quarter of this year.

Sentiment surveys have improved and exports, imports along with output have all increased. However, a Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) published earlier this week showed that the manufacturing sector decreased in June. On the other hand Germany's VDMA engineering association on Thursday slashed its forecasted production for 2013.