Germany's trade surplus increased slightly in January

According to provisional data from Destatis, Germany exported goods to the value of 108.9 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 94.4 billion euros in January 2019. Exports increased by 1.7% and imports by 5.0% in January 2019 year on year. After calendar and seasonal adjustment, exports remained almost unchanged and imports were up 1.5% compared with December 2018.

The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 14.5 billion euros in January 2019. In December 2018, the surplus amounted to 14.3 billion euros. In calendar and seasonally adjusted terms, the foreign trade balance recorded a surplus of 18.5 billion euros in January 2019.

In January 2019, Germany exported goods to the value of 65.3 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU), while it imported goods to the value of 51.7 billion euros from those countries. Compared with January 2018, exports to the EU countries increased by 0.6%, and imports from those countries by 3.7%. Goods to the value of 41.4 billion euros (+1.0%) were exported to the Euro area countries in January 2019, while the value of the goods imported from those countries was 33.8 billion euros (+4.7%). In January 2019, goods to the value of 23.9 billion euros (+0.0%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the Euro area, while the value of the goods imported from those countries was 17.9 billion euros (+2.0%).