Germany: Exports rise in February
German exports rose 1.3% month-on-month on a seasonally- and calendar-adjusted basis, up from January’s revised 0.1% increase (previously reported: flat reading). Imports, on the other hand, fell 1.6% over the prior month in February, contrasting the revised 0.6% expansion recorded in January (previously reported: +0.5% month-on-month). Consequently, the calendar- and seasonally-adjusted trade surplus widened to EUR 21.6 billion in February from EUR 18.7 billion in January.
Compared to the same month a year prior, exports rose 0.4% and swung from January’s 1.9% drop, while imports fell 2.9%, down from January’s 1.5% contraction. The 12-month moving average of export growth, meanwhile, eased to 0.2% in February from 0.5% in January, while the 12-month moving average of import growth moderated from 0.9% in January to 0.2% in February. All told, the 12-month rolling sum of the trade balance edged up from a EUR 225.5 billion surplus in January to EUR 229.2 billion in February.