Germany’s trade surplus fell in 2017 for the first time in eight years, data showed on Thursday, in a further sign that vibrant domestic demand is sucking in more imports.
The trade surplus is slowly re-balancing the export-oriented economy, reports Reuters.
The seasonally unadjusted trade surplus went down to 244.9 billion euros (£216.4 billion) from the record-high of 248.9 billion euros in the previous year, according to the Federal Statistics Office.
The wider current account surplus, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments, edged down to 257.1 billion euros from 259.3 billion euros in the previous year.
In December alone, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 0.3 per cent on the month while imports rose by 1.4 per cent, the data from the statistics office showed.
The exports figure beat expectations for a 1.0 per cent fall while imports also came in stronger than the forecast for a 0.5 per cent decrease.
The seasonally adjusted trade surplus in December narrowed to 21.4 billion euros. This was smaller than the Reuters consensus forecast for a surplus of 21.7 billion euros.