Sales growth for German exporters amounted to around 6%, which is higher than expected. Economists had only expected an increase of 1.5 percent.
Container ships are at a standstill in the port, while German exporters recorded a significant increase in turnover at the beginning of the year. According to the Federal Statistical Office’s announcement on Wednesday, exports rose by 6.3 percent in January compared to the previous month. Economists surveyed by the Reuters news agency had only expected an increase of 1.5 percent. Imports rose by 3.6 percent, which is twice as much as expected. Adjusted for calendar and seasonal effects, goods worth 135.6 billion euros were exported from Germany and goods worth 108.0 billion euros were imported.
The export growth is primarily due to the flourishing business in Europe. Companies exported goods worth 75.8 billion euros to EU member states, which corresponds to an increase of 8.9% compared to the previous month. The USA remained the most important buyer of goods “Made in Germany”. However, business with the world’s largest economy fell by 1.7% to 12.5 billion euros. Exports to China rose by 7.8% to 8.1 billion euros, while exports to the UK fell by 8.1% to 6.8 billion euros.