The FINANCIAL — A rise in exports saw Germany’s trade balance hit its highest surplus on record in May, a signs that rising foreign demand is underpinning economic growth in Europe’s largest economy, according to Nasdaq.
The federal statistics office on July 9 said Germany’s trade surplus, adjusted for seasonal swings and calendar effects, swelled to 22.8 billion euro ($25.3 billion) in May from a revised 21.5 billion euro in April.
That was the highest surplus since records began in January 1991, and well above forecasts of EUR20.3 billion in a survey of economists by The Wall Street Journal. Exports in May jumped 1.7% from the preceding month, while imports rose 0.4%.
The value of total exports, adjusted for seasonal swings and calendar effects, was the highest on record too. Exports hit 102.1 billion in May, well above the EUR92.7 billion registered in May last year, the data showed.
The current account balance, a broad measure of an economy’s international financial position, showed an unadjusted surplus of EUR11.1 billion, below the EUR16.3 billion economists had predicted. By comparison, the current account surplus in May 2014 was EUR11.9 billion.
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