Germany’s exports fell more than expected in September

Germany’s exports fell 2.4 percent month-on-month in September, above expectations, due to the impact of the recession on the global economy.

The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced the country’s foreign trade data for September. Thus, the country’s exports, corrected for seasonal and calendar effects, decreased by 2.4 percent in September compared to the previous month and reached 126.5 billion euros. The market expectation was that the country’s exports in September would decline by 1.1 percent.

In September imports decreased by 1.7 percent to 110 billion euros.

Thus, Germany’s foreign trade surplus, discounting seasonal and calendar effects, amounted to 16.5 billion euros. In September 2022, the surplus in question amounted to €5 billion.

Compared to September 2022, exports decreased by 7.5 percent and imports decreased by 16.6 percent.

EXPORT OF 69.8 BILLION EUROS TO EU COUNTRIES

Of German exports in September, 69.8 billion euros went to European Union (EU) countries. 58.7 billion euros of the country’s imports came from EU countries.

Compared to August, exports to EU countries decreased by 2.1 percent and imports from these countries decreased by 2.6 percent.

According to data from Destatis, Germany’s exports to China, its most important trading partner, decreased by 7.3 percent compared to August and reached 7.3 billion euros. Over the same period, Germany’s exports to its other major trading partner, the US, decreased by 4 percent to €12.8 billion in September, and its exports to Russia fell by 11.2 percent. up to 600 million euros. Imports from Russia increased by 7.5 percent, reaching 200 million euros.

Meanwhile, the country’s exports in the January-September period increased by 0.1 percent compared to the same period last year and reached 1 trillion 177 billion euros.

‘FOREIGN TRADE IS AN OBSTACLE FOR THE ECONOMY’

According to analysts, the slowdown in global growth, the decline in industrial production and the efforts of consumers to cope with rising inflation are also negatively affecting German exports.

Carsten Brzeski, head of global macro research at ING and chief economist of Germany, said in his assessment on the subject: “Foreign trade is no longer the engine of strong and lasting growth of the German economy; on the contrary, it constitutes an obstacle.” . he said.

Brzeski stated that the export sector, like the rest of the German economy, is caught on the line between recession and stagnation: “Since the beginning of 2022, net exports have had a negative impact on the economy in four of the six quarters . . “Supply chain disruptions, a more fragmented global economy and China’s evolution into a rival country rather than a target market for exports are putting pressure on the German export sector.” he made the assessment of it.

On the other hand, the German economy contracted by 0.1 percent in the third quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter due to weak purchasing power and high interest rates.

On October 11, the government updated the official growth expectation for this year, which had previously been announced at 0.4 percent, to minus 0.4 percent due to the stagnation of the global economy.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also reduced its growth expectation for Germany this year from -0.3 percent to -0.5 percent, reporting that it would be the only developed country to contract this year. (AA)