Germany’s trade surplus rises to new record at € 102.1 bn

Germany's trade surplus rose to a new record in May as exports from Europe's largest economy shot up, outpacing an imports surge.

The Federal Statistical Office said today that exports were up 1.7 per cent in May over April to €102.1 billion ($112.56 billion), when adjusted for calendar and seasonal factors. Imports were up 0.4 per cent to €79.3 billion for a surplus of €22.8 billion.

The earlier record of €22.3 billion was set last month.

In unadjusted terms as against May 2014, Germany's exports were up 6.2 per cent in the EU overall, with 5.1 per cent growth to countries using the euro currency and 8.2 per cent growth to others.

Exports outside the EU were up 2.3 per cent.

Imports from eurozone countries were the strongest with 5.5 per cent growth.

This comes as the highest surplus since records started to be kept in January 1991, and stood well above forecasts of €20.3 billion in a survey of economists by The Wall Street Journal. Exports in May increased 1.7 per cent from the preceding month, while imports were up 0.4 per cent.

The current account balance, a broad measure of an economy's international financial position, showed an unadjusted surplus of €11.1 billion, below the €16.3 billion economists had predicted. By comparison, the current account surplus in May 2014 stood at €11.9 billion.