German exports slip in October

10 December 2003

WIESBADEN – Germany’s exports declined year-on-year in October, while imports were up slightly, the Federal Statistics Office reported Wednesday, raising concerns that that a soaring euro could hit the nation’s foreign orders.

The office said exports were down 1.2 percent to EUR 58.2 billion, while imports were up a slight 0.1 percent to EUR 47.4 billion.

The resulting October trade surplus of EUR 10.8 billion was lower than the EUR 11.5 billion figure in October 2002, the office data showed.

The export figures indicated that the rising value of the euro was starting to impact negatively on exports.

Exports to the European Union partner countries – most of whom have the euro as their currency – were up 5.1 percent at EUR 33.2 billion in October. But exports outside the EU were down 8.5 percent to EUR 25 billion.

For the first 10 months, German exports totalled EUR 584.6 billion, up 1.3 percent. Imports totalled EUR 439.8 billion, some 2.4 percent higher than in the January-October 2002 period.

The EUR 108.8 billion trade surplus through October this year was off slightly from the EUR 112.1 billion figure in the first 10 months of last year, the office figures showed.

The balance on current accounts – the sum of visible trade, services and other transfers – showed a surplus of EUR 37.5 billion in the first 10 months this year, down from EUR 47.0 billion in the same period of 2002.