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German Trade Data Gives the EUR an Early Boost…

By:
Bob Mason
Published: Mar 9, 2021, 07:42 UTC

The EUR gets an early boost as Germany's trade surplus widens off the back of a rise in exports and fall in imports...

Dollar and euro bank notes on the table

In this article:

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.

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.

EURUSD 090321 Hourly Chart

Next Up

Industrial production figures from Italy and finalized 4th quarter GDP numbers for the Eurozone.

About the Author

Bob Masonauthor

With over 20 years of experience in the finance industry, Bob has been managing regional teams across Europe and Asia and focusing on analytics across both corporate and financial institutions. Currently he is covering developments relating to the financial markets, including currencies, commodities, alternative asset classes, and global equities.

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