German Trade Surplus Falls Less Than Expected as Imports Falter
09.06.2009 (09:14)
Germany posted a s.a. trade surplus of EUR 9.1 billion in April,
up from EUR 8.9 billion in the previous month. The slight improvement
was due to a 5.8% m/m decline in import growth, which outstripped the
4.8% m/m drop in exports. The later timing of Easter this year compared
to last may have distorted results in April and the renewed drop in
exports suggests that the improvement in March was a one off rather
than a turnaround in export demand. The unadjusted trade balance
amounted to EUR 9.4 billion, down from EUR 19.0 billion in April last
year and after a surplus of EUR 11.3 billion in the previous month. The
unadjusted current account surplus fell to EUR 5.8 billion from EUR
15.4 billion in April 2008 and versus EUR 11.0 billion in March. The
accumulated surplus for the year to date fell to EUR 25.9 billion, from
EUR 65.0 billion in the first four months of 2008.
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