Germany’s exports are buoyed by demand from outside EU

Germany’s trade surplus fell in February but stronger-than-expected demand from outside Europe may keep the eurozone’s biggest economy out of recession, analysts said yesterday.

... in February, German exports to non-eurozone countries increased 9.7 per cent

Germany exported goods worth €91 billion in seasonally-adjusted terms in February, up 1.6 per cent from January.

At the same time, imports were up 3.9 per cent at €77.4 billion, giving a trade surplus of €13.6 billion, down from €15.1 billion in January.

It was the second month in a row that exports have increased and defied analysts’ expectations of a drop this month.

A breakdown showed that it was primarily demand from outside Europe that was behind the export growth.

While exports to the euro area rose a modest 3.3 per cent year-on-year in February, German exports to non-eurozone countries increased 9.7 per cent and to non-European nations 13.4 per cent, the figures showed.

On the other side, imports from the eurozone rose 5.5 per cent year-on-year while imports from countries outside Europe grew 5.2 per cent.

Analysts said that following disappointing manufacturing orders and industrial output data last week, the trade report suggested that Germany might be able to avoid a recession after all.

The German economy contracted 0.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011 and there are concerns it might shrink again in the first quarter of 2012.