German exports fell by 1.8% in July, much more than expected, official figures have shown.

德国官方统计数据显示，七月份出口额下降1.8%，远超预想值。

The month-on-month fall compares with a 1.2% decline in June. Economists² had only expected exports to contract by 0.1% in July.

At the same time, Germany's imports fell 0.3% in July, again surprising analysts³ who had expected a 0.2% rise.

The figures are just the latest to suggest that the German economy - the largest in Europe - is weakening.

It follows data from financial information group Markit which said that Germany's manufacturing and service sectors⁴ saw their weakest rate of growth for almost two years in August.

The most recent official figures showed that the German economy grew just 0.1% between April and June.

'Dampened outlook'

Citigroup economist¹ Juergen Michels described the latest export and import data as "disappointing".

"The renewed decline signals that foreign trade will likely give hardly any growth impulses（推动） in the third quarter as well," he said.

"The outlook for exporters is dampened given a weaker global economy.

"We won't see a dramatic drop, but exports will be weaker than in the first half of the year."

Germany's Federal Statistics Office said that as a result of the changes to exports and imports, the country's trade surplus narrowed to 10.1bn euros ($14.2bn; £8.9bn) in July from 11.5bn euros in June, on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

The sharp fall in exports will be a serious concern for the German government, as the country is one of the world's largest exporters.

Commerzbank economist Christoph Weil said: "The risks for the German economy come from the outside. These data prove that.

"The momentum⁵ of foreign trade has certainly slowed. But it will be enough for decent economic growth in the third quarter of about half a percent."