German exports fall in July on global slowdown

Germany's exports dropped in July as the global economic momentum lost pace, data released by the Federal Statistical Office. The reading on exports came in below consensus expectations. German exports had surged in the second quarter, leading to the fastest pace of economic expansion in two decades. There are two major risks to German exports going ahead - slower global demand and fiscal consolidation in other euro-zone countries.

Overseas sales, adjusted for working days and seasonal changes, declined 1.5% after growing by a revised 3.7% in June, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said. Economists had forecast exports to remain unchanged. Imports dropped 2.2% from June, when they increased 1.6%. In calendar and seasonally adjusted terms, Germany posted a trade surplus of 12.7 billion euros in July.

Germany's exports rose 18.7% in July from a year earlier, today’s report showed. Exports to countries outside the European Union increased 25.1% and sales to countries within the euro region rose 15.1%. German factory orders unexpectedly fell in July and manufacturing activity eased in August, indicating that the largest euro-zone economy may slow on the back of moderating expansion in the US and China.