Latest data released by Destatis - 7 August 2018
- Prior €19.7 billion; revised to €19.6 billion
- Current account balance €26.2 billion vs €21.0 billion
- Prior €12.6 billion
- Exports 0.0% vs -0.3% m/m expected
- Prior +1.8%
- Imports +1.2% vs +0.3% m/m expected
- Prior +0.7%
Slight delay in the release by the source. A larger than expected trade surplus and exports did not decline as much as expected. German officials may take some comfort in that, but there is still much else to worry about as industrial activity continues to display soft tones and export data isn't really brimming with confidence either.
The data here may not impact the euro in the immediate term but it will eventually feed into overall Q2 data and in turn have consequential effects on the ECB's monetary policy decision moving forward.
