Falling German exports slash trade surplus in August

[FRANKFURT] A sharp drop in German exports caused the country's trade surplus to contract in August, but largely due to the timing of the summer school holidays, official data showed on Thursday.

Exports shrank by 5.8 per cent in August, cutting the trade surplus, the balance between imports and exports, the federal statistics office Destatis calculated in a statement.

It was the sharpest drop in exports since January 2009, a spokesman for Destatis said.

In seasonally adjusted terms, Germany exported goods worth a total of 92.6 billion euros (US$118 billion) in August, down from 98.3 billion euros in July, Destatis.

Imports, on the other hand, shrank by just 1.3 per cent to 75.1 billion euros.

That meant the seasonally adjusted trade surplus, tumbled to 17.5 billion euros in August from 22.2 billion euros in July.

In unadjusted terms, the contraction was even more marked, with the trade surplus shrinking to 14.1 billion euros in August from a record 23.5 billion euros in July, Destatis said. - AFP