Rebounding German Exports Boost Trade Surplus in September

A rebound in German exports caused the country's trade surplus to grow in September, nearly making up for a sharp drop the previous month, official data showed on Friday.

Exports expanded by 5.5 percent in September, lifting the trade surplus, the balance between imports and exports, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

In seasonally adjusted terms, Germany exported goods worth a total of 97.7 billion euros ($121 billion) in September, up from 92.6 billion euros in August, Destatis said.

Imports climbed by almost as much, rising by 5.4 percent to 79.2 billion euros.

That meant the seasonally adjusted trade surplus, grew to 18.5 billion euros in September from 17.5 billion euros in August.

In unadjusted terms, the expansion was even more marked, with the trade surplus growing to 21.9 billion euros from 14.1 billion euros in August, Destatis said.