FRANKFURT, Oct 10 ― Germany's trade surplus fell sharply in August, official data released today showed, undermined by a plunge in exports as trade conflicts and business uncertainty persisted.

Exports outweighed imports by €18.1 billion (RM83.6 billion), federal statistics authority Destatis said, down from 20.2 billion in July.

The amount of goods sold abroad fell by 1.8 per cent month-on-month, to €101.2 billion, while imports added 0.5 per cent to reach 85 billion.

The effects of the trade conflicts are clearer in a year-on-year comparison, with exports down 3.9 per cent and imports shedding 3.1 per cent compared with August 2018.

Looking in more detail at the latest figures, Germany's European Union neighbours remained its most important market, buying €57.5 billion of goods, down 3.3 per cent year-on-year.

Exports to the rest of the world fell more quickly, by 4.8 per cent, to 43.7 billion.

Imports from both the EU and third countries also fell.

Germany's export-intensive manufacturing sector will be eyeing closely talks between the US and China that resume in Washington today in a bid to resolve the trans-Pacific trade conflict.

Manufacturers are already in recession, weighing on the remainder of the economy.

That has prompted many observers to suggest the country's gross domestic product could shrink again in the third quarter, after falling 0.1 per cent in April-June ― making for a "technical” recession, or two quarters of negative growth. ― AFP