BERLIN, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- German exports slumped sharply in August at their biggest amount since the height of financial crisis in 2009, official data showed on Thursday.
German exporters sold goods worth of 97.7 billion euros (about 110.3 billion U.S. dollars) in August, 5.2 percent fewer than in previous month, said German federal statistical office Destatis. It was the deepest drop since January 2009 when the global financial crisis was at its height.
Imports also slumped by 3.1 percent to 78.2 billion euros, narrowed Germany's trade surplus to 19.6 billion euros.
Foreign trade was Germany's traditional growth engine and regained its momentum in the second quarter of 2015 after being stalled for two years.
Analysts said the data on Thursday, which followed drops of industrial orders and output, suggested that German economic growth still faced uncertainties from abroad despite the country's dynamic domestic demand.
Germany's Economy Ministry, however, attributed the recent drops to a large number of holidays in August, and insisted that German industrial activity remained "moderately positive."
