Germany's industrial orders fell sharply in August, largely dragged down by a decline in large-scale orders such as aircraft, ships, trains, and military vehicles, according to data released on Tuesday by the Federal Statistical Office.

After seasonal and working-day adjustments, industrial orders dropped 10.6% month-on-month in August, far exceeding the average analyst forecast of a 1.0% decline.

This drop was entirely attributed to a 61.5% slump in orders classified by statisticians as "other transport equipment" — a category that had more than doubled in July, driven by a surge in large-scale orders for ships, railway rolling stock, and aircraft.

Excluding the impact of large orders, new orders fell 0.1% month-on-month in August.

The less volatile three-month comparison showed that new orders from June to August rose 1.3% compared with the previous three months.

After revision, industrial orders in July increased 3.2% month-on-month, up from the preliminary reading of 2.5%.

Orders from overseas fell 5.4% month-on-month in August, with orders from the eurozone down 5.4% and orders from outside the eurozone down 5.5%.

Domestic orders in Germany declined 17.3% month-on-month.