Germany's exports drop 1.2% in August 2023

The figures for August 2023 show that the country exported goods valued at €127.9 billion and imported goods amounting to €111.4 billion. The country saw a foreign trade surplus of €16.6 billion in the same month, which contrasts starkly with the surplus of €17.7 billion in July 2023 and just €2 billion in August 2022.

Breaking down the trade relationships, Germany exported goods worth €69.6 billion to the European Union (EU) member states and imported goods valued at €60.0 billion from them in August 2023. These exports to the EU represented a 1.5 per cent fall, while imports saw a 1.9 per cent rise compared to July 2023. Exports to EU countries outside the eurozone, like the UK, saw an increase, while imports decreased slightly, as per Destatis.

Trade with third countries, those outside the EU, resulted in exports amounting to €58.3 billion and imports at €51.3 billion. This represents a decline of 0.9 per cent in exports and a drop of 3.0 per cent in imports from July 2023.

The United States remained Germany's top export destination in August 2023. However, there was a slight decline of 1.3 per cent, bringing the total exports to €13.3 billion. Meanwhile, exports to China increased by 1.2 per cent, reaching €8.4 billion. The United Kingdom saw a dip in imports from Germany by 4.2 per cent, settling at €6 billion.

China, on the other hand, was the primary source of German imports, with goods valued at €13 billion, although this represented a 2 per cent decline from July 2023. Imports from the US fell by 3.1 per cent to €7.6 billion, and the UK saw a slight decrease of 0.9 per cent, bringing in goods worth €3 billion.

A significant note was the decline in exports to Russia, which stood at €0.7 billion in August 2023, a decrease of 0.5 per cent from the previous month. This is a significant reduction when juxtaposed with August 2022 figures, following the Russian attack on Ukraine. In total, exports to Russia saw a plunge of 36.1 per cent from a year ago. Russian imports also decreased to €0.2 billion in August 2023, which is down by a staggering 93.7 per cent compared to August 2022.

In nominal terms, without adjustments for calendar or seasonal effects, Germany's exports and imports in August 2023 were valued at €121.8 billion and €107.4 billion, respectively. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of €14.4 billion, compared to a mere surplus of €0.4 billion in August 2022.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DP)