German exports fall for second month in August

German exports fell in August for the second month in a row, official data showed Thursday, weakening hopes that Europe's biggest economy was on course for a strong rebound.

Exports dropped 0.8 percent from the previous month to 137.6 billion euros, or $154 billion, after a 0.5 percent fall in July, according to provisional figures from statistics agency Destatis.

The August decline was driven by a drop of more than six percent in shipments to the United States, the main export destination for German manufacturers. Destatis said exports to US customers were still about 20 percent higher than in August last year.

Exports to other European Union countries fell 0.6 percent, while exports to China rose nearly five percent.

Imports rose 0.9 percent month on month to 118.1 billion euros, narrowing Germany's trade surplus to 19.5 billion euros.

ING economist Carsten Brzeski said the figures dented the narrative of German resilience and that geopolitical shifts and trade tensions were affecting an economy that had benefited from free trade.

After several years of low or negative growth, Germany's economy is expected to pick up speed this year because of a public-spending drive pushed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Economic think-tanks recently revised their growth forecast for this year to 1.3 percent.