June Delivers Positive Surprise: Germany’s Trade Surplus Exceeds Forecasts
03rd Aug 2023
Germany’s trade surplus expanded beyond expectations June, with weaker imports hinting at increasingly squeezed demand.
The country’s adjusted trade surplus–representing the difference between exports and imports of goods–rose to 18.7 billion euros ($20.45 billion) in June, compared with a revised EUR14.6 billion in May, data from the country’s statistics office Destatis showed Thursday.
In June, exports rose 0.1% on month on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis to EUR131.3 billion, marking a slight uptick in global demand for Germany’s manufactured goods such as cars, car parts and industrial appliances.
Exports had been expected to rise by 0.4% after a slight fall the previous month, according to a Wall Street Journal poll of economists.
The trade surplus had been expected to rise to EUR16.0 billion, but imports were weaker than forecast, slipping 3.4% from the previous month. This suggests demand is under pressure from tighter monetary policy and high inflation in the eurozone’s largest economy.
Outside the European Union, the United States remained the largest export market for German goods in June, followed by China and the United Kingdom, Destatis said.
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