The current account surplus was also in retreat, falling back to 7.5 billion euros in July from 11.5 billion the previous month.

The drop was bigger than economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected. They forecast a trade surplus of 11.4 billion euros.

Exports from Germany, the world's second-biggest exporter after China, fell 1.8 percent on the month to 86.9 billion euros, according to figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects.

Meanwhile, imports fell only slightly in July, by 0.3 percent to 76.7 billion euros.

Europe's top economy has weathered the financial market storms generally better than its neighbours, expanding by 3.6 percent last year.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that growth will be about the same this year, a forecast many economists see as too bullish given the headwinds from the eurozone debt crisis.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011