BERLIN, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- German foreign trade is showing no signs of recovery amid the current economic downturn, according to preliminary figures published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Friday.
Exports and imports in September fell 2.4 percent and 1.7 percent respectively from the previous month, Destatis said.
Compared to last year, the value of exports from Europe's largest economy has dropped by 7.5 percent, while imports were down 16.6 percent. This resulted in trade balance of 16.5 billion euros (17.7 billion U.S. dollars), according to Destatis.
"German foreign trade is suffering," said Dirk Jandura, president of the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services. "Economic difficulties are weighing on companies and creating a poor mood."
Despite a slight upward trend, sentiment in the German export industry remained negative in October, the ifo Institute for Economic Research said last week. Most industries in the country are "predicting a drop in international business."
"We are emerging from the crisis more slowly than expected. I don't expect to see a stronger increase in our exports until next year," Jandura said, pointing to "positive signals" in this regard coming from both China and the United States. (1 euro = 1.06 U.S. dollar) ■
