In September 2022, German exports were down by 0.5% and imports by 2.3% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with August 2022.
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Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that exports increased by 20.3% and imports by 30.7% from September 2021.
After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the total value of 134.5 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 130.8 billion euros in September 2022.
The foreign trade balance thus showed a surplus of 3.7 billion euros in September 2022. The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus had been +1.2 billion euros in August 2022 and +11.7 billion euros in September 2021.
On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of 73.4 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU), while it imported goods to the value of 64.3 billion euros from those countries in September 2022.
Compared with August 2022, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to the EU countries dropped by 1.7% and imports from those countries by 1.2%.
The value of the goods exported to euro area countries totalled 51.5 billion euros (-1.6%) and the value of the goods imported from there was 44.3 billion euros (-0.6%).
Goods to the value of 21.9 billion euros (-1.9%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from those countries was 20.1 billion euros (-2.5%).
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 61.1 billion euros in September 2022, while imports from those countries totalled 66.5 billion euros on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.
Compared with August 2022, exports to third countries increased by 1.0% and imports from those countries decreased by 3.4%.
Most German exports went to the United States in September 2022. 5.6% more goods were exported there after seasonal and calendar adjustment, compared with August 2022. Exports to the United States thus rose to 14.5 billion euros.
Exports to the People's Republic of China decreased by 2.0% to 8.9 billion euros and exports to the United Kingdom fell 0.3% to 6.1 billion euros.
Most imports came from the People's Republic of China in September 2022. Goods to the value of 16.7 billion euros were imported from there, which was a 5.4% increase compared with the previous month, after calendar and seasonal adjustment. Imports from the United States were down 1.3% to 8.1 billion euros.
Imports from the United Kingdom increased by 3.7% to 3.5 billion euros in the same period.
Exports to the Russian Federation declined a calendar and seasonally adjusted 5.4% to 1.0 billion euros in September 2022 compared with August 2022 and dropped 52.6% from September 2021. Imports from Russia fell by 33.1% to 1.8 billion euros in September 2022 from August 2022.
Germany exported goods to the value of 142.4 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 133.4 billion euros on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) in September 2022.
These were the highest monthly figures ever recorded in foreign trade statistics for both exports and imports.
Compared with September 2021, exports increased by 20.3% and imports by 30.7%. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 9.0 billion euros in September 2022. In September 2021, the surplus had been +16.2 billion euros. ■