Germany reports foreign trade hike
Germany sold a record amount of goods abroad in January and the trade surplus widened more than economists expected, a sign firms in Europe's biggest economy were coping well with the strong euro at the start of the year.
French data also suggested the single currency's surge to a record high against the US dollar was causing less pain than feared, with exports posting a surprise gain and the trade deficit narrowing more than expected.
Economists said net trade probably supported growth in Germany in the first quarter but warned the euro's strength and a slowdown in key markets such as the United States would dampen foreign demand in coming months.
"The loss of dynamism in the United States and Western Europe and the ongoing strengthening of the euro means that only average export growth can be expected this year," said Matthias Rubisch at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
Exports rose by 3.8 percent on the month in January to 85.3 billion euros on a seasonally adjusted basis and the surplus was 16.1 billion euros, exceeding the mid-range forecast of 16 billion in a Reuters poll of economists, the Federal Statistics Office said.
December's trade surplus was revised up to 15.8 billion euros from an originally reported 15.6 billion.
Imports rose by 4.2 percent from December to 69.2 billion euros, the most since July 1998, the office said. Economists in the Reuters poll had expected a 1 percent gain in exports and imports to be unchanged on the month.
France's trade deficit narrowed to 3.391 billion euros compared with expectations for 4.0 billion, with exports rising to 36.6 billion euros from 34.6 billion a month earlier.
Separate data showed French industrial output unexpectedly rose 0.5 percent on the month in January and Italian output rebounded 1.3 percent after a weak fourth quarter.
Germany is the world's largest exporter of goods, selling almost 1 trillion euros worth abroad in 2007, and foreign trade has been a key engine of growth.
Agencies
(China Daily 03/11/2008 page17)
