Trade conflicts? Crisis? Not for German exporters, it seems: The German economy lay in 2018, when exporting, the fifth record year in a row. It could be the last.
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New German Export record
After a surprisingly strong December, Germany’s exports ended the last year with a Plus of three percent compared to the previous year: in Total, according to the Federal Statistical office on Friday, led the company in 2018 to a value of just 1,318 trillion euros. Despite the warnings of the consequences of the sanctions policy of the US President, Trump and the threat of disruption by a Brexit getting louder and louder.
Imports to Germany increased in the year-on-year comparison, 5.7 percent to 1,090 trillion euros. Thus, exports and imports exceeded the previous maximum values from the year 2017. At that time Goods to the value of 1,279 trillion euros were exported and Were imported to a value of 1.031 trillion.
Lower Foreign Trade Surplus
The foreign trade surplus for the Germany international again and again is criticized, declined as a consequence in the past year, as He totaled 227,8 billion euros 247,9 billion euros in the previous year.
Even if the bottom line is a record of export, the growth of exports slows down in 2017, exports had risen by 6.2 per cent. At all end – of – the way for German companies, especially the year of tedious. “The German export economy has beaten last year relatively well. But the uncertainties have not diminished,“ the assessment of the Economist, Klaus Wohlrabe from the Ifo Institute. “The Brexit stands in front of the door. It could be disastrous. Also, the tensions in international trade. It came back disillusion and caution.”
The order intake in the German industry as a whole declined in December compared to the previous month, according to figures from the Federal Statistical office, by 1.6 percent. The image fits that in the manufacturing sector, the total production declined in December, measured month-on-month by 0.4 percent. As the Federal Statistical office in Wiesbaden reported, decreased production, compared to December 2017 and even by 3.9 percent.
Many containers in the port of Hamburg, but less than before: The growth of exports.
“The Outlook darkens”
For this year, the German external trade Association BGA expects an export growth of up to three percent. “We go in spite of the high probability of a disorderly Brexits that German exports can grow this year up to three percent,” said BGA President Holger Bing man recently, the newspaper “The world”.
This could prove to be too optimistic: The EU Commission lowered its forecasts for the growth of the German gross domestic product (GDP) in the current year to 1.1 percent. So far, it was assumed to be 1.8 percent. And in all the 19 States of the common Euro area the EU economy will grow-according to Commission expected to be only 1.3 percent. In the fall they had expected a Plus of 1.9 percent.
In the past four years, the growth in the Eurozone was at about 2 percent, or about it. The times seem to be over. “The Outlook darkens”, overwrote the German business Association DIHK, the results of its survey among nearly 27,000 companies. The business expectations were branches accordingly in all sectors of the economy significantly worse estimated. “After nine years of growth, the starts of the domestic economy to weaken.”
ar/hb (dpa/rtr/afp)