(Bloomberg) -- German factory orders rose in October, a sign of hope for manufacturers in Europe’s largest economy as they struggle with inflation and elevated energy costs due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Demand increased 0.8% from the previous month, beating the median 0.1% estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The gain was due to large-scale orders, without which there would have been a 1.2% decrease, the statistics office said Tuesday. 

Fears of a deep winter slump have been tempered in part by warm autumn weather that allowed Germany to fill gas-storage facilities and lower the risk of disruptive shortages. A gauge of business expectations by the Ifo institute rose last month on optimism that the recession could be less severe than initially expected. 

A survey of purchasing managers by S&P Global also showed conditions didn’t deteriorate further in November, though the data continued to point to a slowdown in manufacturing activity. Pressure on supply chains that’s long plagued the industry started to ease, helping cool some price pressures. 

German inflation, meanwhile, slowed to 11.3% in November, feeding optimism that the surge in consumer prices may be peaking. Underlying inflation that strips out volatile factors including energy is still expected to remain elevated.

--With assistance from Joel Rinneby and Kristian Siedenburg.

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