German Trade Data Gives the EUR an Early Boost…
After a relatively busy economic calendar through the Asian session, the German economy was back in focus going into the European open.
This time around the numbers were more aligned with Germany’s survey-based indicators for January and February.
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Trade Surplus Widens
In January, Germany’s trade surplus widened from an upwardly revised €16.4bn to €22.2bn. Economists had forecast a surplus of €16.4bn.
According to Destatis,
- In January, exports rose by 1.4% to €98.1bn on the previous month. Exports were down by 8.0% on the same month a year earlier, however.
- Imports fell by 4.7% to €83.8bn on the previous month. On the same month a year earlier, imports were down 9.8%.
Trade by Region and Country
- German goods exports to EU member states fell by 6.0%, with imports falling by 5.9%.
- Goods exports to euro area countries fell by 6.5%, with imports from euro area falling by 7.4%.
- To EU countries outside of the euro area, exports fell by 4.8%, with imports falling by 2.7%.
- Exports of goods to outside of the EU amounted to €43.6bn, while imports from these countries totaled €39.5bn.
- Compared with January 2020, exports to third countries declined by 10.3%. Imports were down by 13.9%.
- With the UK, exports slid by 29.0% compared with the same month last year. German imports from the UK were down 56.2%.
- Exports to China increased by 3.1% over the same period, however, while exports to the U.S fell by 6.2%.
Market Impact
Ahead of today’s stats, it was a mixed start for the EUR. Early in the day, the EUR had fallen to a current day low $1.18355 before rising to a pre-stat high $1.18669.
In response to the stats, however, the EUR jumped from $1.18576 to a current day high $1.18769.
At the time of writing, the EUR was up by 0.21% to $1.18709.
Next Up
Industrial production figures from Italy and finalized 4th quarter GDP numbers for the Eurozone.