By Maria Martinez
(Reuters) - German exports unexpectedly fell in July on a sharp decline in U.S. demand due to tariffs, while industrial output rose, data showed on Monday.
Exports from Europe's biggest economy fell by 0.6% in July compared with the previous month, data from the federal statistics office showed. This compared with a Reuters poll forecast for a 0.1% increase.
Exports to the United States were down 7.9% compared with June. Germany's export-oriented economy is expected to be badly affected
by U.S. import tariffs. The United States was Germany's biggest trading partner in 2024 with two-way goods trade totaling 253 billion euros ($297 billion).
The U.S. imposed a 15% import tariff on most goods from the EU in a deal reached with the bloc in July to avert a bigger trade war between the two allies that account for almost a third of global trade.
Exports to EU countries rose by 2.5% on the month, while goods to other countries outside the EU declined by 4.5%, the data showed.
Meanwhile, German industrial production rose by 1.3% in July compared to the previous month, the data showed, while analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 1.0% rise.
The less volatile three-month on three-month comparison showed that production was 0.1% lower in the period from May to July than in the previous three months.
After revision of the provisional results, production decreased by 0.1% in June compared with May, instead of 1.9%.
The statistics office attributed the revision to corrections from a large enterprise in the automotive sector and additional data provided.
Separately, German industrial orders unexpectedly fell for the third straight month in July, data showed on Friday, declining by 2.9% on the month.
Imports fell 0.1% compared with June.
The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 14.7 billion euros ($17.23 billion) in July, down from 15.4 billion euros in June and 17.7 billion euros in July of 2024.
($1 = 0.8534 euros)
(Additional reporting by Daria Bogdanska and Paolo Laudani in Gdansk, Editing by Friederike Heine and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
