German Exports Rise Again Strongly, But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Level

7 May 2021

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – German exports climbed a seasonally and calendar-adjusted 1.2% on the month in March, the German Federal Statistical Office said on Friday.

Imports were up 6.5% in March compared to February. Compared to February 2020, the last period before the outbreak of the pandemic, exports in March were down a seasonally and calendar-adjusted 0.9%, while imports were up 6.7%.

The foreign trade surplus in March was at a seasonally and calendar-adjusted €14.3 billion, while Germany's current account balance stood at €30.2 billion.

According to Statistical Office data, German exports to other euro area countries in March totalled €47.0 billion, with imports at €39.4 billion. Those figures represented increases on the year of 22.6% and 16.2%, respectively.

Exports to China were up 37.9% on the year, while those to the U.S. increased by 8.8%. In absolute terms, exports to China in March had a value of €10.3 billion, versus €11.1 billion of exports to the U.S.

Imports from China meanwhile were up 46.6% on the year to €11.7 billion, whereas imports from the U.S. were down 1.5% to €6.7 billion.