Germany's imports fell by 8.6% YoY in May 2023

After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the total value of €130.5 billion and imported goods to the value of €116.1 billion in May 2023. The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of €14.4 billion in May 2023. The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus stood at €16.5 billion in April 2023 and €4.4 billion in May 2022, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said in a press release.

On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of €70.3 billion to the member states of the European Union (EU) in May 2023, while it imported goods to the value of €61.6 billion from these countries. Compared with April 2023, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to the EU countries dropped by 1.5 per cent, while imports from these countries increased by 3.5 per cent.

The value of the goods exported to euro area countries totalled €49.2 billion at -1.6 per cent in May 2023, and the value of the goods imported from these countries was €41.0 billion at 4.5 per cent. In May 2023, goods to the value of €21.2 billion at -1.3 per cent were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from these countries was €20.5 billion at 1.5 per cent, on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.

Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to €60.2 billion in May 2023, while imports from these countries totalled €54.5 billion, on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Compared with April 2023, exports to third countries increased by 1.5 per cent and imports from those countries decreased by 0.3 per cent.

Most German exports in May 2023 went to the US. After seasonal and calendar adjustment, exports of goods to the US were down 3.6 per cent compared with April 2023, with the value of exports to the US falling to €12.7 billion. Exports to China increased by 1.6 per cent to €8.6 billion and exports to the UK by 5.8 per cent to €6.4 billion.

Most imports in May 2023 came from China. Goods to the value of €13.3 billion were imported from there, which represented a 2.7 per cent increase compared with the previous month, after calendar and seasonal adjustment. Imports from the US were down 5.7 per cent to €7.6 billion. Imports from the UK increased by 15.3 per cent to €3.3 billion during the same period.

German exports to Russia declined a calendar and seasonally adjusted 7.4 per cent to €0.7 billion in May 2023 compared with April 2023. Compared with May 2022, when exports to Russia decreased dramatically as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine, exports were down 34.4 per cent. Imports from Russia fell by 17.3 per cent to €0.3 billion in May 2023 from April 2023, and were down 92.6 per cent compared with May 2022.

Germany exported goods to the value of €130.6 billion and imported goods to the value of €117.2 billion on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) in May 2023. Compared with May 2022, exports in May 2023 therefore decreased by 4.0 per cent, and imports fell by 10.6 per cent. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of €13.4 billion in May 2023. In May 2022, the surplus was €4.9 billion.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)