BERLIN, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Calendar and seasonally-adjusted German exports in July increased by 4.7 percent compared with the previous month to 102.3 billion euros (120.8 billion U.S. dollars), according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Tuesday.
In June, German exports went up by 14.9 percent which was "the strongest month-on-month increase" since the beginning of the time series in 1990, Destatis noted.
"German foreign trade continued recovering in July," Axel Lindner, deputy head of the department macroeconomics at Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), told Xinhua on Tuesday. "But at a markedly slower pace than in June."
Despite the recovery after a historic slump in April due to the COVID-19 crisis, German exports in July were still down 11 percent year-on-year, according to Destatis.
German exports to Britain in July decreased by 12.6 percent year-on-year, while exports to the United States, "which have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic," dropped by even 17 percent, Destatis noted.
Exports to China were already almost at last year's level and only decreased by 0.1 percent to 8.7 billion euros in July, according to Destatis.
At the same time, most imports to Germany had come from China. Goods worth 10.3 billion euros were imported from China, an increase of 7.4 percent compared with the same month last year, according to Destatis.
Germany's total imports in July went up by 1.1 percent compared to the previous month to 83.1 billion euros, according to Destatis.
Export and import volumes reached around 90 percent of their level before the COVID-19 pandemic started, said Lindner, adding that "100 percent will probably not be reached before the virus appears to be under control in Germany's main trading partners." Enditem
