Overview
- Germany's seasonally adjusted exports fell 0.8% from July to €137.6 billion in August, while imports rose 0.9% to €118.1 billion, reducing the trade surplus to €19.5 billion according to Destatis' preliminary release on Thursday.
- Exports to the United States — still Germany's largest single market — dropped 6.3% month‑on‑month to €13.5 billion even though they remain up sharply year‑on‑year.
- Trade with China showed a split: exports to China rose 4.7% month‑on‑month to €5.9 billion while imports from China jumped 11.0% to €16.8 billion, and year‑to‑date exports to China have fallen.
- Destatis emphasised the August numbers are preliminary and said explanations must await detailed tables that will be updated around October 20.
- The foreign‑trade lobby BGA slightly raised its annual export forecast the day before these data but warned that persistent weakness in U.S. and Chinese markets is a downside risk for German exporters and could affect orders and jobs if the trend continues.