Berlin [Germany], June 28: Sentiment among German exporters has deteriorated slightly as the ifo Export Expectations index fell from 4.4 points in May to 3.7 points in June, the ifo Institute for economic research said on Monday.
"Logistics problems and a high level of uncertainty are depressing the outlook for German exports," said Clemens Fuest, president of the ifo Institute, in a statement.
In May, German exports to countries outside the European Union rose by 1.1 percent compared with the previous month and reached 57.7 billion euros (61 billion U.S. dollars), according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
Although the country's industry sectors have developed differently, optimism returned to Germany's important automotive industry, which is "expecting growth in international business for the first time since February," the ifo Institute said.
As in previous years, motor vehicles and parts were Germany's most important export goods in 2021, accounting for 15.3 percent of total exports with a value of 210.2 billion euros, according to official data.
In view of the latest developments, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) has recently lowered its forecast for the global car market, expecting a slight decline in sales to just over 70 million units in 2022.
German manufacturers of electrical equipment, however, suffered a "significant setback" with expectations at their lowest level since June 2020, according to the ifo Institute. Only a few companies in this sector still expect exports to grow.
Although electrical exports were still slightly up at the beginning of the second quarter, growth was lower than in the previous months, according to the German Electro and Digital Industry Association (ZVEI).
Rising prices as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and increased supply bottlenecks were "weighing on the recovery of the German economy," the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) warned earlier this month.
"As soon as the supply bottlenecks ease," the country's industry could work off the high order backlog, IfW Kiel said. In this case, German exports could increase again by 3.4 percent in 2022 and by 6.5 percent in 2023. (1 euro = 1.06 U.S. dollars)
Source: Xinhua
