German Preliminary Balance of Payment and Trade Data for June: The seasonally and not seasonally adjusted

Germany released preliminary June data on the balance of payments and data on the trade in goods. The preliminary balance of payments data for June are: the total current account, the balance on goods, supplementary trade items, the balance on services, the balance on factor income and current transfers. These items are available only on seasonally unadjusted basis. No June data on the financial account are yet available. While June exports and imports of goods are not shown in the preliminary balance of payments, they are included in the report on trade in goods where they are shown on a seasonally adjusted and unadjusted basis.

The current account surplus on a seasonally unadjusted basis increased 2.3 billion euros to 10,4 billion euros in June 2005 from 8.1 billion in June 2004. Since late 2001, Germany has had a positive balance on current account. Typically, a large positive balance on trade in goods outweighs negative balances on services and factor incomes and supplementary trade items and transfer payments that also result in an outflow of funds. This pattern has changed slightly as the factor income balance became positive in 2004. The balance turned negative in April and May of this year but has become positive again in June. The balance on factor income is the difference between receipts of investment income and wages from foreign countries and German payments of these factors to foreign countries. The first chart shows the factor income balance together with the balance on goods. The shift to a positive balance on factor income in 2004 may be due in part to the increase in Germany's direct investment abroad.

The seasonally adjusted data show a trade in goods balance of 14.79 billion euros an increase of 2.63 billion euros from a year ago. While exports declined 0.4% from May, they were over 8% above June, 2004. Imports were down sharply in June--5.5%--but they were 6,3% above June 2004. The second chart shows exports and imports on a seasonally adjusted basis.