German exports rise in December on solid U.S., China trade

Europe’s largest economy took heavy lifting from its exports as it had solid trade activities with the United States and China, with its upbeat December figures show recovery from the pandemic drag.

Germany reported a 0.1% seasonally adjusted exports in December, following a 2.3% increase in November, according to the data released by the Federal Statistics Office on Monday. The continued expansion in exports caused the trade surplus to expand to 16.1 billion euros.

Meanwhile, imports posted a crashing 0.1% decline after recording a 5.4% growth in November.

On a yearly basis, Germany’s exports to China grew by 11.6% and 8.4% to the United States. Reeling from Brexit, the country’s exports to the United Kingdom fell by 3.3% in December and its imports also decreasing by 11.4%.

In January, the German government trimmed its GDP growth forecast for this year to 3% from a 4.4% estimate last autumn. This move hints that the country’s economy is unlikely to reach its pre-pandemic level before mid-next year.