Germany’s trade surplus narrowed to 10.6 billion euros (US$13.4 billion) in May due largely to a sharp increase in imports that more than off-set increases in exports. For the month of May, exports increased by 9.2 percent, but imports coming into Germany, grew by 14.8 percent.
Both results beat expectations and provide further evidence that Germany’s recovery remains on track. Exports rose due to increased demand in Asia with a weaker euro making european products more affordable for foreign markets.
“The strong economic upturn in Germany is continuing unabated. The reasons are well known – demand in Asia is strong and the weak euro is helping,” said Unicredit analyst Andreas Rees.
“The strong increase in imports is an encouraging signal that shows the upturn is gaining pace. This all suggests the German economy grew quite strongly in the second quarter – we’re expecting to see growth of about 1%.”
Source: BBC News