German exports rose on an annual basis for the first time in fourteen months in December, data released by the Federal Statistical Office showed Tuesday. However, the year 2009 saw exports falling the most since 1950.
As global demand started picking up amid the economic recovery, German exports rose 3.4% year-on-year in December. That was the first rise since October 2008 and followed a 3.6% decline in November.
"Today's numbers highlight once again that the German economy can almost always rely on a helping hand from the export sector," said Carsten Brzeski, senior economist at ING Bank. "The road might be bumpy but it is the road to recovery and not a dead-end street."
On a monthly basis, exports continued to rise for a fourth month, with 3% rise in December. That was in contrast to a 0.1% drop economists had expected. In November, overseas sales grew 1.1%.
According to Commerzbank analyst Simon Junker, the trend in foreign trade is still clearly upwards and contributed positively to economic growth in the fourth quarter. In the coming months, the analyst expects exports to climb again, although the dynamics should slow down.
Suggesting that domestic demand is likely to recover in the near future, the pace of decline in imports slowed to 6.5% annually from 15.1% in November. Moreover, imports rose 4.5% month-on-month, the first rise in three months.
Colin Ellis, an economist at Daiwa Capital Markets Europe, said today's data could reflect some normalization in imports. The economist sees the German economic recovery to be disproportionately dependent on exports during 2010 amid subdued consumer spending.
The trade surplus in December was EUR 13.5 billion, down from EUR 17.2 billion excess in November. Provisional results of the Deutsche Bundesbank showed a current account surplus of EUR 20.6 billion for December, up from EUR 17.8 billion surplus in the previous month.
Further, Destatis reported that Germany exported commodities to the value of EUR 803.2 billion in 2009, down 18.4% over 2008. Similarly, imports dropped 17.2% to EUR 667.1 billion. The statistical office said it was the biggest decline recorded in foreign trade in relation to both imports and exports since 1950.
The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of EUR 136.1 billion in 2009, narrower than the EUR 178.3 billion in the previous year. The current account surplus during the period was EUR 119.4 billion, smaller than EUR 165.2 billion surplus logged in 2008. "As regards the world's top exporting nations, Germany as the largest exporter was overtaken by China in 2009," Destatis said. Citing information from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, Destatis said Chinese exports amounted to US$1,201.7 billion, while German exports totaled US$1,121.3 billion in 2009. Also on Tuesday, the statistical office confirmed January's consumer price inflation at 0.8%, slightly down from 0.9% recorded in December.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.