German May exports,imports fall,trade surplus widens
July 10, 2002 02:42 AM ET Email this article Printer friendly version
(Adds analyst comment, backgroundl)
FRANKFURT, July 10 (Reuters) - German exports fell in May, but an even stronger fall in imports widened the country's trade surplus further, Federal Statistics Office data showed on Wednesday.
Exports fell to 50.2 billion euros in May from 55.7 billion euros in April and were down 7.8 percent on the year.
Imports also fell to 40.6 billion euros from 46.3 billion euros in April and were down 12.5 percent on the year, allowing the trade surplus to edge up by 0.2 billion euros to 9.6 billion euros.
Ulla Kochwasser, an economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank said the export drop should not be seen as a sign Germany's export-led recovery would soon stall.
"I wouldn't put to much emphasis on the figure because it may be distorted by strikes and a large number of holidays."
"It's only one month, we've had monthly increases for all of this year," she said.
Exports are seen as the most likely driver for a recovery in Germany's economy, the euro zone's biggest, as demand from consumers remains lacklustre.
Engineering strikes and a higher than average number of long weekends in May were the main reasons why industrial production in Germany dropped by a worse-than-expected 1.3 percent in May, the government said on Tuesday.
On a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis May exports were 5.3 percent lower on the month and imports fell 8.0 percent from their April levels.
The current account surplus rose slightly to 4.3 billion euros in May from 4.0 billion in April.
The current account measures not only goods and services trade with other nations, but also elements like remittances and debt servicing costs, making it a country's broadest measure of international financial transactions. |
