Situation for German exporters 'remains difficult': ifo Institute

The situation for exporters in Germany "remains difficult" and sentiment among them "has improved a bit" only in October, the ifo Institute for Economic Research said on Wednesday.

The "high level of uncertainty is causing a reluctance among international customers to place new orders," the institute's President, Clemens Fuest, said in a statement.

The ifo Export Expectations rose to minus 5.3 points in October, up from minus 6.0 points the month before. The index is based on around 2,300 monthly reports by German manufacturing companies.

Germany's important automobile industry has suffered a significant setback. "Following their recent sunny outlook, they now no longer expect any growth in their international business," the institute noted.

The situation remains difficult for energy-intensive sectors, such as chemicals, glassware and metal production, and food exporters also foresee a decline in exports.

Only Germany's beverage industry and manufacturers of electronic equipment expect to see "significant growth" in exports.

In the first eight months of the year, exports by the German electro and digital industry rose by almost 8 percent to 156.8 billion euros (US$157 billion), according to the industry association ZVEI.

In the coming year, industry exports could "lose momentum, as the economic outlook in many customer countries and regions has clouded over," a ZVEI spokesperson told Xinhua on Wednesday. The low euro exchange rate, however, could "possibly have a positive effect."

Despite disrupted supply chains and uncertainties due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Germany's exports to countries outside the European Union in September went up 0.8 percent month-on-month, according to provisional data by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

The United States remained the biggest customer for German companies as exports in September increased by 44 percent year-on-year to 15.4 billion euros, according to Destatis. At the same time, exports to China grew by 8.5 percent and reached 9.2 billion euros.

The latest forecast for global trade in October by the German Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) shows a "more robust development" than in previous months. "Trade is tending to increase," the institute said on Monday.