Germany’s exports declined for the first time in three months in May as demand from China and the United States weakened, data published by Destatis showed on Monday.
Exports posted a monthly fall of 3.6 percent, in contrast to the 1.7 percent increase in April.
At the same time, imports declined more deeply by 6.6 percent, reversing a 1.2 percent rise in April.
As a result, the trade surplus rose unexpectedly to EUR 24.9 billion from EUR 22.2 billion in the previous month. The surplus was seen at EUR 20.3 billion.
Exports to the United States and China declined 2.9 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, imports from China grew 1.7 percent and that from the US gained 4.6 percent.
Exports to the member states of the EU slid 2.5 percent and imports from these countries slid 8.9 percent.
Year-on-year, exports decreased 3.8 percent after a 12.3 percent gain in April. Similarly, imports were down 10.0 percent following April’s 6.4 percent increase.
As the annual decline in imports exceeded the fall in exports, the trade surplus totaled EUR 22.0 billion in May, which was higher than the EUR 15.1 billion surplus logged in the same period last year.