German exports down by a fifth

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} Export earnings, traditionally the German economyÔÇÖs greatest strength, fell by a fifth in January as the world's largest exporter suffered falling demand for its luxury cars and other manufactured goods.   According to figures released by the German statistics office today, exports fell to Ôé¼66.6 billion, down from Ôé¼84 billion in January 2008. Imports also fell from Ôé¼66.7 billion to Ôé¼58.1 billion. The country's trade surplus halved to Ôé¼8.5 billion (┬ú7.8 billion) as a result, GermanyÔÇÖs lowest for seven years.   Economic issues in the US and other major economies triggered a reduction in German exports late in 2008. The countryÔÇÖs gross domestic product slumped 2.1 percent in the last quarter, compared with a decline of 1.5 percent in the EU as a whole.   Germany has predicted that its economy will shrink by 2.25 percent in 2009, which would be its worst performance in the post-World War II era.   Separately, French industrial production fell by 3.1 percent in January compared with December, while manufacturing output fell by 4.1 percent.   *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *