German December exports beat forecasts; Industrial production falls

6th Feb 2026 07:28

(Sharecast News) - German exports rose more than expected in December compared with the previous month, but industrial production fell, preliminary data from federal statistics office Destatis showed on Friday.

The 4% figure beat estimates of a 1% rise. Imports rose by 1.4% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with November 2025.

Germany exported goods worth €133.3bn and imported goods to the value of €116.2bn in December, giving a surplus of €17.1bn.

Exports to the US rose 8.9% month on month to €11.8bn but were down 12.9% year on year after the Trump administration started its global trade war.

There was also a rise in the value of exports to China of 10.7% to €7.2bn compared with November 2025. Month on month, exports to the UK increased by 14.6% to €6.9bn.

Meanwhile, industrial production was down 1.9% in December 2025 from November due to weaker output in the automotive industry (-8.9%), machinery and equipment (-6.8%) and machine maintenance and assembly (-17.6%), Destatis said.

The less volatile three-month on three-month comparison showed that production was 0.9% higher from October to December than in the previous quarter.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

On an annualised basis production was down 0.6% in December 2025 after adjustment for calendar effects.