Providing a further boost to Europe's top economy as it bounces back from last year's crippling recession, German exports rose sharply in July compared to the year before, official data showed on Sept. 8.
And although the pace of export growth slowed slightly compared to the month before, analysts said that exports would continue to be an important driver in Germany, the world's second largest exporter, in the second half of the year.
Exports rose by 18.7% compared to July 2009 for a total of 83 billion euros (US$105 billion) of goods exported. Imports also rose sharply, registering a 24.9% gain on the previous year with 69.5 billion euros of goods brought into the country.
Germany's trade surplus of 13.5 billion euros was slightly lower than at the same time in 2009.
In June, exports soared by 28.4% compared to the previous year. The absolute value of goods exported (86.4 billion euros) was the highest monthly value since October 2008, the statistics office said.
Compared to this month, exports declined by 1.5% in July and imports by 2.2%.
Carsten Brzeski said exports were bound to slow after the stellar performance in June but this did not presage a decline. "All in all, after the strong surge in the second quarter, German exports are now normalizing," the analyst said. "However, normalizing does not mean stagnation. Even at a slower pace, the export sector should remain an important growth driver."
A breakdown of the export figures showed that other European Union countries snapped up 48.6 billion euros worth of German goods, with 34.4 billion euros going to third countries.
With the economic climate in the country improving significantly, the German federation of exporters (BGA) on Sept. 7 doubled its forecast for exports in 2010 to growth of around 10%.
"Firms have shaken off their state of shock caused by the economic collapse in the previous year," said BGA chief Anton Boerner.
Germany experienced its worst recession in more than six decades last year, but has bounced back strongly, predominantly on the back of improved global demand for its exports.
Europe's economic powerhouse registered sizzling growth figures of 2.2% in the second three months of the year and is expected to achieve output over the year of around 3%.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010
