Trade wars and Brexit fears sap German export surplus

February 8, 2019: Germany's trade surplus narrowed last year compared to 2017, with trade wars making themselves felt even as both imports and exports hit record highs.

Europe's powerhouse economy exported 227.8 billion euros ($258.3 billion) more than it imported in 2018, federal statistics authority Destatis said.

That figure was just over 20 billion euros short of 2017's level, as 5.7-percent growth in imports outpaced a 3.0-percent increase in exports.

In absolute terms, exports hit a record high of more than 1.3 trillion euros, as did imports with almost 1.1 trillion.

Figures for December alone were gloomier, with exports down 4.5 percent year-on-year, at 96.1 billion euros, while imports were flat at 82.1 billion.

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