Germany set for record exports in 2016: trade body

[BERLIN] German exports will rise to new record levels next year, overcoming difficulties in China and other markets mostly thanks to the weak euro, the head of the BGA foreign trade federation predicted Monday.

German companies can expect "new all-time records for both exports and imports", said Anton Boerner.

His federation predicted an up to 6 per cent rise in exports to 1.191 trillion euros (S$1.83 trillion), and a 4 per cent boost to imports to 947 billion euros, maintaining a solid trade surplus for Europe's largest economy.

The year 2015 "exceeded our expectations despite a difficult global environment", Mr Boerner said.

"But all that glitters is not gold," he warned, saying that the German export success owed much to the euro's weakness against the dollar, giving a competitive advantage to European products.

He also pointed at risks ahead, including China's economic slowdown and the record-low interest rates and other measures of the European Central Bank.

"Given the dangerous side effects of the monetary policy of the ECB, the unresolved euro debt crisis and many global trouble spots, this in sum means there won't be a celebratory mood and short-term confidence will give way to scepticism in the medium and long term," he said.

AFP