Germany experienced a notable surge in exports at the beginning of the year, driven by increased demand from European Union nations and China, according to data released by the federal statistics office.
In January, exports soared by 6.3% compared to the previous month, surpassing expectations of a 1.5% increase projected in a Reuters poll.
Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank Group, commented, "It is a promising start for exports this year. Following the significant decline in December, a positive figure in January was highly anticipated."
Due to its substantial export dependency, Germany has been particularly impacted by the global downturn in export trends. In 2023, exports witnessed a 2.2% decline in real terms compared to the preceding year, with a sharp 4.5% decrease recorded in December.
Gitzel expressed hope for a turnaround, stating, "The expectation now is for exports to at least rebound to modest growth in 2024."
Exports to EU member states surged by 8.9% on a monthly basis, while exports to non-EU countries saw a 3.1% increase. Notably, exports to China experienced a robust growth of 7.8%, whereas exports to the United Kingdom declined by 8.1%.
Meanwhile, imports also saw an uptick, rising by 3.6% from December, surpassing analysts' expectations of a 1.8% increase.
The foreign trade balance revealed a calendar- and seasonally adjusted surplus of 27.5 billion euros ($29.9 billion) in January, compared to a surplus of 23.3 billion euros in the previous month.
February saw a slight improvement in sentiment within the German export sector, as indicated by the Ifo export expectations index rising to minus 7.0 points, up from minus 8.5 points in January.
Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at Ifo, commented, "The German export economy is experiencing limited benefits from current global economic conditions. There is still ample room for enhancement."
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