A marked surge in demand both at home and abroad gave Germany's manufacturing sector a boost throughout April, the VDMA industry association reported on June 3.

It said overall orders for the month rose by 8 percent compared with the same month last year. Domestic orders jumped by 6 percent, with foreign assignments going up as much as 10 percent.

"At last, we see an increase after what has been a rather disappointing first quarter," VDMA economist Ralph Wiechers said in a statement.

Rising orders, rising confidence

The association said it was important to make the April jump sustainable so that the sector could meet its target of two-percent growth throughout 2013.

"The April numbers aren't enough just to bring about a turnaround back to growth," Wiechers argued. "But rising demand from abroad in particular provides hope that machine tool customers will soon abandon their current reticence."

The sector employs about a million people in Germany, making it a crucial pillar of Europe's biggest economy. It's mainly made up of small and medium-sized companies, but also includes DAX-listed blue chips such as ThyssenKrupp, Gea and Gildemeister.

hg/ng (dpa, AFP, Reuters)