Overview
- Exports rose 1.4% month on month to €131.1 billion in September, while imports increased 3.1% to €115.9 billion, leaving a €15.3 billion trade surplus.
- Sales to the United States climbed 11.9% to €12.2 billion after five monthly declines, though they remained 14% below a year earlier; exports to EU partners rose 2.5% and those to China fell 2.2%.
- Manufacturing orders increased 1.1% from August (1.9% excluding large orders), driven by foreign demand (+3.5%) as domestic orders fell 2.5%; the third quarter still showed a 3.0% drop versus the second.
- Producing-sector output advanced 1.3% month on month and industrial output 1.9%, led by a 12.3% surge in automobile production; output was down 0.8% on a quarterly basis and 1.0% year on year.
- Services turnover slipped 0.5% in August, and Destatis flagged that monthly figures are preliminary and subject to revision as the economy ministry and economists cautioned against calling a trend reversal.