German exports rise more than expected in Sept on US increase

German exports rose more than expected in September as exports to the United States increased for the first time after five consecutive month-on-month decreases, official data showed.

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Exports from Europe's biggest economy rose by 1.4 per cent in September compared with the previous month, according to data from the federal statistics office, beating a forecast by analysts polled by Reuters for a 0.5 per cent increase.

Despite the rebound, German exports remained below their March 2025 level, before US President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day", when he announced tariffs against all countries, causing global markets to slide, CEOs to yank planned IPOs and other nations to take retaliatory measures.

"Given the ongoing structural challenges, it currently requires a lot of imagination to see a quick return of the export sector as a powerful growth engine for the German economy," said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.

Imports rose by 3.1 per cent on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 15.3 billion euros ($17.84 billion) in September, compared with a surplus of 18.0 billion euros in September 2024.

Exports to the United States increased by 11.9 per cent on the month, following five consecutive declines due to Washington's tariffs on European imports. However, exports to the US were still down 14.0 per cent year-on-year.

"It shows the deep wounds tariffs have inflicted on exporters in our most important export destination," said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.