German exports to Russia slumps in August

German exports to Russia dropped significantly in August as the Ukraine crisis hit their bilateral trade, official data showed on Wednesday.
In August, German exporters delivered goods worth 2.3 billion euros (about 2.9 billion U.S. dollars) to Russia, the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said. Compared to the same month of previous year, the exports slumped by 26.3 percent.
From January to August, German exports to Russia fell by 16.6 percent year on year. Vehicles and motor vehicle products was hit the worst, suffering a decline of 27.3 percent.
The drops showed a deteriorating bilateral trade between the two countries. From 2010 to 2012, German exports to Russia enjoyed high growth every year. In 2011, the exports rose by 30.8 percent.
Russia ranked as the 11th trading partner to Germany in 2013 and was the third biggest importing
Earlier data from Destatis showed that one in ten German exporters traded with Russia.
German economists warned that sanctions against Russia would also hurt the German economy, as 6,000 German firms operate in Russia, and Germany needs Russian oil and gas for filling its power gap before completing its ambitious energy transition.
Partly due to the geopolitical tensions, the German government cut its forecast for growth to 1.2 percent in 2014.
Economists worried that not only exports, but also investment climate would be hit by the tensions. That would be the worst part. Recent surveys found that confidence of German enterprises, investors and consumers all wavered due to external uncertainties.