German trade surplus narrows as exports decline at fastest pace since 2009

The Euro zone's biggest economy booked a lower trade surplus in August, as exports plunged by their largest amount since the global financial crisis, in the latest sign that Germany is feeling the headwind from a slowdown in emerging markets. According to the data from the Federal Statistics Office, Germany's foreign trade, one of the components of the country's current account, generated a non-seasonally adjusted surplus of 15.3 billion euros in the reported period, up from the 25 billion euros registered in July. At the same time, country's exports dropped 5.2% month-on month, posting the steepest fall since January 2009. August's decline in exports followed a revised 2.2% growth in July, while economists anticipated a 0.9% decrease in the eighth month of the year. As for the import, it contracted by a monthly 3.1% to 78.2 billion euros in August.  

 

In the meantime, the accounts of the ECB monetary policy meeting, which took place in Frankfurt on 2-3 September, revealed that that downside risks to inflation across the Euroland have intensified over the summer. However, it added that more time is needed to gauge the effect of financial market volatility and slower growth in China. At the same time, the ECB showed its willingness to increase its stimulus programmes, if needed, to address the risks of too low inflation.