German trade surplus falls annually in February

By Tuba Ongun

Germany's trade surplus decreased to €17.7 billion ($19.51 billion) in February, compared to €22.6 billion in the same month last year, according to data released on Monday.

However, the figure was up from €16.2 billion in January, Destatis data showed.

German exports ticked up by 0.1% year-on-year to a 10-month high of €131.6 billion in February, while its imports increased 4.6% to €113.8 billion.

In February, Germany shipped goods worth €61.4 billion to countries outside the EU, while imports from these non-EU countries reached €55.2 billion.

The US was the top destination for German goods in February with exports rising by 8.5% month-on-month to €14.2 billion.

Exports to China saw a modest rise of 0.6%, amounting to €6.8 billion, whereas exports to the UK declined by 3.8% to €6.5 billion.

On the import side, China remained Germany's main supplier. Imports from China rose by 7.1% from January, to €13.7 billion. Imports from the US fell by 3.9% to €7.6 billion, and those from the UK dropped by 5.2% to €3.5 billion.