German exports rise more than expected in September on US increase

By Maria Martinez

BERLIN (Reuters) -German exports rose more than expected in September as exports to the United States increased for the first time after five consecutive month-on-month decreases, official data showed on Friday.

Exports from Europe's biggest economy rose by 1.4% in September compared with the previous month, according to data from the federal statistics office, beating a forecast by analysts polled by Reuters for a 0.5% increase. 

Despite the rebound, German exports remained below their March 2025 level, before U.S. President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day", when he announced tariffs against all countries, causing global markets to slide, CEOs to yank planned IPOs and other nations to take retaliatory measures.

"Given the ongoing structural challenges, it currently requires a lot of imagination to see a quick return of the export sector as a powerful growth engine for the German economy," said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.

Imports rose by 3.1% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.

The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 15.3 billion euros ($17.84 billion) in September, compared with a surplus of 18.0 billion euros in September 2024.

EXPORTS TO THE US INCREASE, CHINESE IMPORTS ON THE RISE

Exports to the United States increased by 11.9% on the month, following five consecutive declines due to Washington's tariffs on European imports.

However, exports to the U.S. were still down 14.0% year-on-year.

"It shows the deep wounds tariffs have inflicted on exporters in our most important export destination," said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.

Exports to EU countries rose by 2.5% on the month, while exports to countries outside the bloc remained unchanged. 

Exports to China fell by 2.2% on the month and imports posted an increase of 6.1% compared with the previous month. 

The influx of imports has gathered momentum since Trump imposed tariffs on China, and industry bosses, as well as governments, want the European Union to use its powers to protect local businesses and jobs. 

(Reporting by Linda Pasquini and Halilcan Soran; Editing by Miranda Murray and Andrew Cawthorne)