German exports fall more than expected in December

A crane lifts a shipping container at the HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder on the River Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File photo

German exports fell more than expected in December due to weak global demand, data from the federal statistics office showed on Monday.

Exports fell by 4.6 percent in December compared with the previous month. The result compared with a forecast 2 percent decrease in a Reuters poll.

Exports to EU countries fell by 5.5 percent compared with the previous month, while exports to countries outside the EU declined by 3.5 percent, the office said.

Imports fell by 6.7 percent from November, the federal statistics office reported, versus analysts’ expectations for a 1.5 percent decline.

The foreign trade balance showed a calendar- and seasonally adjusted surplus of 22.2 billion euros ($23.92 billion) in December, versus a surplus of 20.8 billion euros the previous month.

In 2023, exports were down 1.4 percent compared with 2022, while imports to Germany experienced a much sharper decline of 9.7 percent.

($1 = 0.9280 euros)