German industrial orders rose far more than expected in October, official data showed Friday, raising hopes that a long downturn in Europe's biggest economy may have bottomed out.

New orders increased 1.5 percent month-on-month, boosted by big orders for transport equipment, according to preliminary figures from statistics agency Destatis.

Analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet had forecast a rise of just 0.5 percent for orders, which are closely watched as an indicator of future business activity.

The figure for September was also revised up, to two percent from an initial reading of 1.1 percent.

The positive readings offer some relief for the eurozone's traditional economic powerhouse, which is struggling to recover from two years of recession driven by an industrial slump

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