German Exports Fall On Weak US Demand

(RTTNews) - Germany's exports declined for the second straight month in August as higher trade tariffs weighed on shipments to the United States, official data revealed Thursday.

Exports dropped 0.5 percent in August from July, following a decline of 0.2 percent in July, Destatis said. The drop came in contrast to the expectations for an increase of 0.3 percent.

At the same time, the decline in imports worsened to 1.3 percent from 0.7 percent. The pace of fall was also sharper than the forecast of 0.5 percent.

As the imports fell more sharply, the trade surplus increased to EUR 17.2 billion from EUR 16.3 billion in July, exceeding the expected EUR 15.1 billion. In the same period last year, the surplus was EUR 21.9 billion.

Exports to the United States decreased 2.5 percent from July to EUR 10.9 billion, marking the fifth consecutive drop and the value reached the lowest since November 2021. By contrast, exports to China grew 5.4 percent.

Most imports in August came from China but these decreased 4.5 percent, while imports from the US gained 3.4 percent.

Exports to EU countries were down 2.5 percent and import from these countries decreased 1.9 percent.

On a yearly basis, German exports logged a decrease of 3.9 percent after rising 1.4 percent and imports rose at a slower pace of 1.0 percent following July's 4.4 percent increase.

Consequently, the unadjusted foreign trade surplus decreased to EUR 12.8 billion in August from EUR 18.4 billion last year.

The downward trend in exports to the US is likely to continue for some time, Commerzbank Senior Economist Ralph Solveen said. Together with the stronger euro, data suggests that foreign demand is unlikely to provide any significant boost to the German economy, he noted.