Germany: Merchandise exports growth accelerates in January
Merchandise exports rose 1.4% month-on-month on a calendar- and seasonally-adjusted basis in January, up from the 0.4% rise recorded in December. Imports, meanwhile, dropped 4.7% month-on-month in January, after flatlining in December. The calendar- and seasonally-adjusted trade surplus, moreover, widened to a calendar- and seasonally-adjusted EUR 22.2 billion from EUR 16.4 billion in December.
On an annual basis, merchandise exports nosedived 8.0% in January, contrasting the 3.0% rise recorded in the prior month. Import growth, meanwhile, fell 9.8% in January, swinging from the 3.5% expansion recorded in December. Lastly, the trend pointed up as the 12-month moving sum of the trade balance widened from EUR 177.5 billion in December to EUR 181.2 billion in December.