May 2016: Germany’s trade surplus contracts as exports fall

FRANKFURT: Germany’s trade surplus shrank in May as exports declined unexpectedly, official data showed on Friday, pointing to possible clouds on the horizon for Europe’s biggest economy.

The trade surplus is a key gauge of an economy’s comparative strength and in recent months has highlighted Germany’s robustness amid the global economic uncertainties; but it declined in May owing to lacklustre exports, according to data published by the federal statistics office Destatis.

Together with disappointing industrial output and factory orders data earlier this week, analysts said the German economy could be slowing after solid growth in the first quarter.

German exports declined by 1.8% to 97.2 billion euros ($108 billion) in seasonally-adjusted terms in May, Destatis said.

Analysts had been projecting an increase of around 0.5% in exports for that month. At the same time, imports edged up by 0.1% to 77.4 billion euros.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2016.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.