Germany's trade surplus soared 28 percent in June compared to May, official data showed on Friday, in a sign that the main motor of Europe's biggest economy is spluttering back to life.
German exports marked their biggest drop on record in April, officials said on Tuesday. But analysts expect the historic slump in Europe's biggest economy to ease in coming months.
German industrial orders, a key indicator in Europe's biggest economy, were stable in April compared with the previous month, the economy ministry said on Monday.
The global recession is hammering exporting giant Germany harder than any time since records began 40 years ago, with data on Friday showing a first-quarter output slump of 3.8 percent.
Markets welcomed unexpectedly good German industrial output data on Friday after Europe's biggest economy posted a slight rise in trade, signs it was not finished with recession but was starting to see some hope.
Germany posted a 23.1 percent drop in exports in February from the same month in 2008, provisional data released Wednesday by the National Statistical Office (Destatis) showed.
German exports plunged 20.7 percent in January - the biggest drop in 16 years - as demand for goods from the world's leading exporter continued to slide amid the global economic slump.
The German Finance Ministry on Friday warned in its monthly report that it anticipates a long-lasting and deep recession due to worsening industrial conditions and glum business sentiment.
The head of the German exporters’ federation, Anton Börner, said over the weekend that Germany stood a good chance of beating China to continue to be the world’s leading exporter in 2009 despite a deep recession.
Germany, the world's biggest exporter, said on Monday that its trade surplus plunged last year as the global economic downturn pushed it into recession.
German exports plunged in November at their sharpest rate since 1990, data showed Thursday, as the global recession pulled the plug on demand for goods from the world's biggest exporter.
The German pork industry, Europe's largest, is turning its attention to China, a vast market with a taste for pigs' ears, feet and other delicacies that are shunned at home.
The German Finance Ministry said on Monday it expects the world’s third largest economy to cool considerable after growth in the second quarter slowed dramatically.
German industrial orders fell in May for the sixth month in a row, official figures showed Friday, prompting analysts to voice alarm and declare an end to a vital boom in the manufacturing sector.
The German economy got off to a stronger-than-expected start to the year, growing 1.5 percent in the first quarter, preliminary data from the Federal Statistics Office showed on Thursday.
