Germany Balance of Trade

Last Release

Apr 30, 2025

Actual

14.6

Units In

EUR Million

21.1

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Jul 08, 2025

Time to Release

29 Days 23 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
25,455.63 Mar 2016	-535.91 Apr 1991	5,502.93 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 dropped sharply to EUR 14.6 billion in April 2025, down from an upwardly revised EUR 21.3 billion in March and well below market forecasts of EUR 20.2 billion. This marked the smallest surplus since October 2024, as exports declined and imports increased. Exports fell by 1.7% month-over-month to a three-month low of EUR 131.1 billion—worse than the expected 0.5% decline—mainly due to lower sales to the US, China, and the UK. Sales to the US plunged 10.5%, the lowest since last October, weighed down by tariffs imposed under the Trump administration. Meanwhile, imports rose by 3.9% to a 23-month high of EUR 116.5 billion, rebounding from a 1.4% drop in March. The increase was mainly driven by higher arrivals from both EU countries (+4.5%) and non-EU countries (+3.4%). For the first five months of 2025, Germany posted a trade surplus of EUR 70.1 billion, with exports and imports rising by 0.2% and 4.8%, respectively.