German exports rebound in July

Frankfurt: Exports from Europe´s largest economy Germany enjoyed an unexpected rebound in July, official data showed on Monday, making for a bright spot in the data amid signs of a looming recession.Some 115.2 billion euros ($127 billion) of German goods were sold abroad in July, up 0.7 percent month-on-month and 3.8 percent year-on-year, federal statistics authority Destatis said in seasonally-adjusted figures.

Analysts surveyed by Factset had predicted a 0.8 percent month-on-month fall. With imports down 1.5 percent month-on-month, at 93.7 billion euros, Germany´s trade surplus reached 21.4 billion euros -- up from 18.1 billion in June.

A geographical breakdown showed trade both with countries that share the euro single currency and the wider European Union shrank in July, while export growth came from business with non-EU nations climbed by 9.8 percent.

After years of booking massive annual trade surpluses, Germany´s export-oriented economy has made it a target for criticism from international organisations like the International Monetary Fund and especially US President Donald Trump.

But an advantage during global upturns has become an Achilles´ heel as growth ebbs, with Trump´s trade war with China, weakness in emerging markets and the threat of no-deal Brexit weighing on confidence and activity.

After German GDP shrank in the second quarter, many economists now expect a "technical" recession -- or two successive quarters of negative growth.