Press release No. 157 of 10 May 2016
WIESBADEN – Germany exported goods to the value of 107.0 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 80.9 billion euros in March 2016. Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that German exports declined by 0.5% and imports by 4.3% in March 2016 year on year. Exports and imports showed diverging month-on-month trends on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. While exports rose by 1.9% on February 2016, imports were down 2.3%.
The foreign trade balance showed a record surplus of 26.0 billion euros in March 2016. In March 2015, the surplus amounted to 23.0 billion euros. In calendar and seasonally adjusted terms, the foreign trade balance recorded a surplus of 23.6 billion euros in March 2016.
According to provisional results of the Deutsche Bundesbank, the current account of the balance of payments showed a surplus of 30.4 billion euros in March 2016, which takes into account the balances of trade in goods including supplementary trade items (+29.0 billion euros), services (–2.5 billion euros), primary income (+7.5 billion euros) and secondary income (–3.7 billion euros). In March 2015, the German current account showed a surplus of 27.0 billion euros.
In March 2016, Germany dispatched goods to the value of 62.6 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU), while it received goods to the value of 53.9 billion euros from those countries. Compared with March 2015, exports to the EU countries increased by 1.7%, while imports from those countries were down 2.1%. Goods to the value of 38.9 billion euros (+1.0%) were dispatched to the Euro area countries in March 2016, while the value of the goods received from those countries was 36.7 billion euros (–2.8%). In March 2016, goods to the value of 23.7 billion euros (+2.9%) were dispatched to EU countries not belonging to the Euro area, while the value of the goods which arrived from those countries was 17.2 billion euros (–0.4%).
Exports of goods to countries outside the European Union (third countries) amounted to 44.3 billion euros in March 2016, while imports from those countries totalled 27.0 billion euros. Compared with March 2015, exports to third countries decreased by 3.4% and imports from those countries by 8.3%.
| Item | March | January to March | February | March | January to March |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2015 | ||||
| 1 According to calculations of the Deutsche Bundesbank. | |||||
| Foreign trade | |||||
| 1 Exports (f.o.b.) | 107.0 | 295.1 | 99.5 | 107.5 | 293.1 |
| 2 Imports (c.i.f.) | 80.9 | 235.5 | 79.4 | 84.5 | 234.7 |
| 3 Foreign trade balance (1-2) | 26.0 | 59.6 | 20.2 | 23.0 | 58.3 |
| Transition to trade in goods 1 | |||||
| 4 Supplementary trade items | 3.0 | 6.1 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 2.1 |
| Current account balances 1 | |||||
| 5 Trade in goods (3+4) | 29.0 | 65.7 | 22.8 | 25.1 | 60.4 |
| 6 Services | –2.5 | –6.1 | –1.1 | –1.4 | –4.7 |
| 7 Primary income | 7.5 | 19.6 | 6.9 | 7.4 | 18.3 |
| 8 Secondary income | –3.7 | –13.5 | –7.5 | –4.1 | –15.8 |
| Current account (5+6+7+8) | 30.4 | 65.7 | 21.1 | 27.0 | 58.2 |
| Item | March 2016 | January to March 2016 | Percentage change from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2015 | January to March 2015 | |||
| billion euro | % | |||
| Results in accordance with the EU concept (by country of consignment). | ||||
| Total exports | 107.0 | 295.1 | – 0.5 | 0.7 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 62.6 | 176.8 | 1.7 | 2.7 |
| Euro-zone | 38.9 | 110.0 | 1.0 | 1.4 |
| Non-euro-zone | 23.7 | 66.8 | 2.9 | 4.8 |
| Third countries | 44.3 | 118.3 | –3.4 | –2.1 |
| Total imports | 80.9 | 235.5 | –4.3 | 0.3 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 53.9 | 155.7 | –2.1 | 2.2 |
| Euro-zone | 36.7 | 106.1 | –2.8 | 1.0 |
| Non-euro-zone | 17.2 | 49.6 | –0.4 | 4.8 |
| Third countries | 27.0 | 79.7 | –8.3 | –3.2 |
| Year | Month | Exports | Imports | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| original value | calendar and seasonally adjusted value 1 | original value | calendar and seasonally adjusted value 1 | ||||||
| value in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year in % | value in billion euros | change on previous month in % | value in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year in % | value in billion euros | change on previous month in % | ||
| 1 Using Census X-12-ARIMA | |||||||||
| 2015 | January | 90.0 | 0.3 | 97.1 | –0.9 | 74.0 | –1.3 | 76.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 95.6 | 4.7 | 97.9 | 0.9 | 76.2 | 1.2 | 77.7 | 1.1 | |
| March | 107.5 | 13.3 | 99.1 | 1.2 | 84.5 | 7.9 | 79.6 | 2.5 | |
| April | 100.4 | 8.1 | 100.4 | 1.3 | 78.6 | 4.1 | 78.8 | –1.0 | |
| May | 95.7 | 5.0 | 101.3 | 0.9 | 76.3 | 3.6 | 79.2 | 0.4 | |
| June | 105.6 | 14.0 | 100.5 | –0.8 | 81.7 | 6.7 | 79.0 | –0.3 | |
| July | 107.1 | 7.1 | 101.9 | 1.4 | 82.2 | 6.9 | 80.2 | 1.6 | |
| August | 87.9 | 5.7 | 97.5 | –4.3 | 72.7 | 4.4 | 78.3 | –2.4 | |
| September | 105.8 | 4.2 | 99.9 | 2.4 | 83.1 | 4.1 | 80.5 | 2.8 | |
| October | 106.2 | 3.2 | 99.1 | –0.8 | 84.0 | 3.3 | 78.8 | –2.1 | |
| November | 102.9 | 8.5 | 100.0 | 1.0 | 82.0 | 5.7 | 79.8 | 1.4 | |
| December | 91.8 | 3.1 | 98.5 | –1.5 | 73.2 | 3.6 | 78.5 | –1.7 | |
| 2016 | January | 88.6 | –1.5 | 98.1 | –0.4 | 75.2 | 1.6 | 79.4 | 1.1 |
| February | 99.5 | 4.1 | 99.4 | 1.3 | 79.4 | 4.1 | 79.4 | 0.1 | |
| March | 107.0 | – 0.5 | 101.3 | 1.9 | 80.9 | –4.3 | 77.6 | –2.3 | |