Germany Posts Record Trade Surplus in 2004

Flying in the face of concerns that the strong euro is hurting German exports, Germany's trade surplus soared to its highest level ever in 2004, official data showed on Tuesday. The trade surplus -- the balance between what a country exports and what it imports -- amounted to €155.6 billion ($202.9 billion) last year, exceeding the previous record of €129.9 billion set in 2003, the federal statistics office, Destatis, calculated in preliminary figures.