With Business

The two sides of the strong euro

The strong euro is slowing down the German economy, hurting the engineering sector, which has long been the backbone of the country's economy.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  For the first time in years, orders declined in March. Factories and machinery produced in Germany have become more expensive in countries that pay in dollars. Although the strong euro has had an impact on the sector as a whole, some companies have managed to buck the trend, including television manufacturer Loewe.

NUMBER CRUNCHER:

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Germany exported six point seven million cubic meters of raw timber last year. The exports far exceeded imports of wood. Above all, coniferous wood from Germany is in high demand abroad. Almost half of the 515 million euros' worth of total exports went to neighboring Austria. China was a distant second with 500 thousand cubic meters of lumber.