Germany's trade surplus hits $15.7B in May

Germany posted a foreign trade surplus of €14.4 billion ($15.7 billion) in May, according to official data released on Tuesday.

The figure was €16.5 billion in April and had been €4.4 billion in May 2022, said the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

Germany's exports fell 0.1% month-on-month to €130.5 billion in May while its imports rose 1.7% to €116.1 billion.

Most German exports in May went to the US with €12.7 billion, a decrease of 3.6% from a month earlier. Germany's shipments to China increased by 1.6% to €8.6 billion and to the UK by 5.8% to €6.4 billion in the same period.

The largest amount of imports came from China with €13.3 billion, up 2.7% compared to the prior month.

Its inbound shipments from the US were down by 5.7% to €7.6 billion and from the UK rose by 15.3% to €3.3 billion during the same period.

Germany's exports to Russia dropped 7.4% from a month ago to €700 million in May and plunged 34.4% from a year ago.

Imports from Russia amounted to €300 million, diving 17.3% from April and 92.6% from May 2022.

On an annual basis, overseas shipments dropped 0.7% and imports went down 8.6% in May.