German Trade Surplus Rises in January

Germany's trade surplus increased in January as both exports and imports rose, official data showed on Thursday. The German trade surplus -- the balance between exports and imports -- amounted to €13.2 billion ($17.7 billion) in January, up from €10.7 billion in December and also higher than the €12.5 billion recorded in January 2004, the federal statistics office, Destatis, calculated in preliminary figures. The biggest euro-zone economy exported goods worth €60.7 billion in January, up a calendar and seasonally adjusted 6.1 percent from December and imports rose by 6.6 percent to €47.5 billion, the statisticians said. Taking into account trade in services and income, Germany's current account showed a surplus of €6.6 billion in January, up from €5.9 billion in December and much higher than the surplus of €1.7 billion recorded in January 2004.