German manufacturing orders rose 4.1 pct in April from March, driven mainly by demand from abroad, according to preliminary data from the Economy and Technology Ministry. For the three months to April, orders rose 2.1 pct compared with November to January. The data included North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) state, which had been hit by public sector strikes. The ministry released figures excluding North-Rhine Westphalia earlier this month, which had shown February-April growth at a weaker rate of 1.5 pct. Including NRW, April manufacturing orders were 3.1 pct higher year-on-year, while in March they rose 15.4 pct and in February they rose 15.0 pct. In April, domestic new orders rose 2.5 pct month on month, compared with a decline of 0.3 pct in March, while orders from abroad increased 5.7 pct in April from a decline of 7.6 pct in March. NRW normally accounts for around 20 pct of federal manufacturing orders.