German factory orders rose by an unexpected 2.4 percent in March over the previous month, official figures released Monday indicated.

The figure was recorded after being adjusted for seasonal and inflationary factors, beating analysts' predictions of a 0.9 percent fall, the Ministry for Economics and Technology said.

Compared with March 2006, orders jumped 9.9 percent.

The ministry revised up the February order figure from 3.9 percent to 4.3 percent.

Domestic orders showed a solid gain of 2.9 percent on February and export demand rose by 2.1 percent, the data showed. Foreign orders surged 2.1 percent in March.

The ministry said the order figures indicated an above average number of big orders.

Industry orders during the first three months surged 3.9 percent, said the ministry.