German exports fell in July for the first time in four months, official data published Friday showed, fueling concerns that Europe's biggest economy could be heading for a recession.

The country exported 131.3 billion euros' ($131.4 billion) worth of goods, 2.1 percent lower than in June, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the federal statistics agency Destatis.

The indicator was 14.3 percent higher than in July last year, while Germany's trade balance remained positive at 5.4 billion euros.

Businesses are increasingly pessimistic about the outlook for the country's export-driven economy, as inflation soars and the fallout from the Ukraine crisis casts a long shadow.

The German economy is among the most vulnerable to any cut-off in energy supplies or rising costs as its industrial sector relies heavily on Russian gas.

A Reuters poll conducted August 29 to September 1 showed the country would see three consecutive quarters of negative growth since the third quarter of the year, surpassing the definition of a technical recession, which only requires two.

"Global supply chain frictions, geopolitical risks and rising production costs are the obvious drivers behind this new trend" of worsening trade data, said Carsten Brzeski, head of macro at the ING bank.

German exports to Russia fell 15.1 percent on a monthly basis in July, to 1 billion euros. That represented a 55.1 percent drop from the same month a year earlier.

Exports to the United States dropped 13.7 percent to 12.3 billion euros, while shipments to China and Britain also fell.

(Sources: AFP, Reuters with edits)