Status: 02.12.2022 11:05 a.m
German foreign trade was weak in October. Exports fell noticeably, imports even more. And the prospects for the coming year are also bleak.
Companies in German foreign trade felt the effects of the global economic slowdown in October. Exports fell by 0.6 percent compared to the previous month, as the Federal Statistical Office announced today. Experts had only expected a decline that was half as strong. Imports even fell by 3.7 percent and thus more than at any time since January.
German US exports are also falling
Altogether, calendar and seasonally adjusted goods worth 133.5 billion euros were exported from Germany in October. The largest single market for products “Made in Germany” in October was the USA with 13.9 billion euros. However, exports to the world’s largest economy fell by 3.9 percent compared to the previous month. Exports to China were unchanged from the previous month at 8.9 billion euros. Goods worth 71.4 billion euros went to other countries in the European Union, which corresponds to a minus of 2.4 percent.
Russia continues to lose importance as a trading partner for Germany as a result of the Ukraine war and the sanctions. In October, exports fell by six percent compared to the previous month to one billion euros. According to the Wiesbaden authorities, imports from the country, which is primarily a supplier of raw materials, fell by one percent to 1.8 billion euros.
pessimism among companies
“The global economy is cooling off under the weight of increased prices and interest rates and is making export business worse,” said DekaBank economist Andreas Scheuerle. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects that a third of the global economy will slide into recession in the coming year. “Difficult times are coming not only for German consumers, but also for the export industry,” said Scheuerle.
According to a survey by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), only 16 percent of industrial companies expect their exports to increase in the next twelve months. 40 percent expect lower exports. “Only during the financial crisis and at the beginning of the Corona crisis were companies more pessimistic with regard to their foreign business,” said DIHK foreign trade chief Volker Treier.