Strong euro hits German US exports

10 February 2004

WIESBADEN – Apparently feeling the effects of the strong euro, German exports to the United States plunged by 14.1 percent year-on-year in November, officials reported Tuesday.

The Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden at the same time reported strong growth in Germany’s import-export trade relations with China and eastern Europe.

The office said that German exports to the US in November weighed in at EUR three billion. The 11-month figure reached EUR 57 billion, down 10.1 percent from the same January-November 2002 period.

Overall, German exports in November, at EUR 58.6 billion, were down 0.5 percent from November 2002, the office data showed.

Exports to China, at EUR 1.5 billion, were a whopping 17.4 percent higher than in November 2002. The 11-month total, at EUR 16.6 billion, was 26 percent higher than in the corresponding 2002 period, the office reported.

Similarly, business with central and eastern Europe remained buoyant, with German exports to that region in November reaching EUR 7.2 billion, up 3.4 percent. The 11-month figure was up 5.5 percent to EUR 74.5 billion.

Germany’s total imports in November came to EUR 48.2 billion, up 3.5 percent on the November 2002 figure. Imports from China, at 2.4 percent, grew 11.1 percent, while those from central and eastern Europe improved 12.6 percent to EUR 7.2 billion.

Russia remained the single most important trade partner in eastern Europe, with German exports there in November reaching EUR 1.1 billion, up 6.0 percent on November 2002. Imports from Russia, at EUR 1.3 billion, were up 8.0 percent.

But the office also noted strong import growth from other eastern European countries in November.

Polish exports rose 13.4 percent to EUR 1.4 billion, with Hungarian deliveries gaining 13.4 percent to EUR 1.2 billion and those from the Czech Republic rising 10.9 percent to EUR1.2 billion, the office figures showed.

In Berlin, the German wholesalers and foreign traders association BGA expressed concern about the downturn in German exports to the United States. BGA president Anton Boerner said that currency exchange rate developments were the apparent cause.

“In view of the economic upturn in the United States, we had expected a much better showing,” Boerner said about the double-digit drop in German exports in November.

DPA
Subject: German news