The mood among German exporters at the end of the year is worse than it has been in eleven months.
The corresponding barometer for export expectations fell in December by 3.7 to 12.1 points, as the Munich-based Ifo Institute announced on Monday for its monthly survey of 2,300 manufacturing companies.
That is the lowest value since January 2021. "Nevertheless, exports will probably increase in the first quarter of 2022, but more slowly," said Ifo President Clemens Fuest.
The automotive industry had to cope with a severe setback.
"Additional orders from abroad are still expected, but significantly less than expected in the previous month," said Fuest.
The same applies to the manufacturers of electrical equipment.
In mechanical engineering, however, expectations improved.
Manufacturers of textiles, foodstuffs and printed products are expecting a slight decline in exports.
Growth forecast lowered
The Ifo Institute expects German exports to increase by 5.4 percent in the coming year, followed by a plus of 5.6 percent in 2022. In the year that is coming to an end, growth of 7.8 percent should have been sufficient. Foreign trade was slowed down in the year ending by global delivery problems, which are likely to continue in 2022. Car manufacturers, for example, complain about a lack of microchips.
For this reason, too, the Ifo experts have lowered their forecast for the growth of the German economy.
For the year that is coming to an end, they are only expecting an increase in gross domestic product of 2.5 percent.
In the coming year, Europe's largest economy is expected to grow by 3.7 percent and by 2.9 percent in 2023.
The shift in economic dynamics was largely due to the fourth corona wave and the production difficulties in the manufacturing sector, it said.