German exports down
January 9, 2015
The German economy switched into lower gear in November of last year, the National Statistics Office (Destatis) reported Friday.
Europe's economic powerhouse exported goods to the tune of 95.8 billion euros, according to preliminary calculations.
Destatis said exports dropped by 2.1 percent compared with the volume reached in October. Analysts polled by Reuters had also expected shipments abroad to dip, but only by 0.15 percent. Year-on-year, though, exports rose by 1.4 percent.
Production down, too
The monthly drop in exports coincided with a slight decrease in industrial output, with Destatis reporting a 0.1-percent dip month-on-month.
By contrast, imports in November rose by 1.5 percent, seeing the trade surplus for the month come in at 17.7 billion euros ($20.9 billion) in adjusted terms.
"Foreign trade will have done little to spur growth in Germany towards the end of last year," HSBC Trinkaus economist Rainer Sartorius told Reuters. "But the rise in imports suggests a pickup in consumption."
hg/pad (dpa, Reuters)