Off the wire
• China's economic fundamentals remain sound  • Roundup: Pakistan seeks NATO backing for Afghan peace process  • Indian stocks close lower  • Number of new asylum seekers in Germany decline in first half of 2016  • Air traffic expected to increase in Namibia  • Philippine bourse closes up as investors await U.S. job data  • Somalia security forces nab 2 Al-Shabaab militants in Mogadishu  • Republic of Congo welcomes start of conversion of Yuan within CEMAC zone  • Major news items in leading German newspapers  • Commentary: IPO fraud delisting shows toughening of stock market regulation  
You are here: 　 Home

German net exports slump in May

Xinhua, July 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Net exports in Germany dropped in May, official data showed on Friday, concluding the past week which saw disappointing figures on economic performance.

Compared with the previous month, German exports fell by 1.8 percent in May, the biggest drop since August 2015, while imports rose by 0.1 percent, said German federal statistics office Destatis.

Net exports, the balance between exports and imports, narrowed to 22.2 billion euros (about 24.6 billion U.S. dollars) in May from a record high of 24 billion euros in April.

Net exports is one of key components of gross domestic product (GDP). The others include private consumption, government spending and investment.

In the first quarter of 2016, the German GDP increased by 0.7 percent, driven mainly by strong private consumption, construction investment and government spending on refugees.

Earlier this week, data from Destatis showed that both new orders and output of the German industry declined in May, adding signs that the economic growth would slow down in the second quarter.

"Another indicator signaling that Germany's performance is currently not champion-like," said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING DiBa bank, "Today's trade data mark the end of a disappointing week for the German industry. All May data point to a sharp slowdown of the German industry." Endit