Germany Balance of Trade

Last Release

Jan 31, 2025

Actual

Units In

EUR Million

20.7

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Apr 07, 2025

Time to Release

26 Days 2 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
25,455.63 Mar 2016	-535.91 Apr 1991	5,521.19 EUR Million	1950-2025	Federal Statistical Office

Germany runs regular trade surpluses since 1952, primarily due to strong exports of vehicles and other machinery. In 2017, the largest trade surpluses were recorded with the US, the UK, France, Austria, Spain, Sweden and the UAE; while the biggest trade deficits were recorded with China, Vietnam, Norway, Russia, the Netherlands, Ireland and Czech Republic.

Latest Updates

Germany's trade surplus fell to EUR 16 billion in January 2025 from EUR 20.7 billion in December 2024, below forecasts of EUR 21 billion, marking the smallest trade surplus since last October as exports fell while imports rose. Exports dropped by 2.5% mom to EUR 129.2 billion in January, marking the first contraction in exports in three months weighed down by sales to EU countries (-4.2%), specifically to the Euro area (-5.0%) and the non-Euro area (-2.3%). Additionally, sales to third countries shrank by 0.4%, due to lower sales to the US (-4.2%) and China (-0.9%), but rising sales to the UK (1.7%) and Russia (7.2%). Meanwhile, imports grew by 1.2% to an 18-month high of EUR 113.1 billion. Imports from third countries grew by 3.7%, amid higher arrivals from the US (6.5%), Russia (7.2%), and the UK (18.8%), while purchases from China declined (-2.8%). By contrast, purchases from the EU fell by 1.1%, with declines from both the Euro area (-0.2%) and the non-Euro area (-2.7%).