Figures released today show that Germany's export machine cranked back up in May, with a 4.3% gain from April partially offsetting a slump of 5.6% in that month.
The provisional gain in May left Germany, Europe's biggest economy and the world's second biggest exporting nation after China, with a seasonally-adjusted trade surplus of €12.8 billion, the Destatis office said.
The statistics office revised lower an initial estimate for April exports, which had shown a drop of 5.5%. Imports were 3.7% higher in May on the month, Destatis said.
On a 12-month comparison, German exports showed an increase of 19.9%, while imports were 15.6% higher.
Figures provided by the German central bank put the current account of the balance of payments, a broad measure of trade and financial transfers with other countries, at a surplus of €6.9 billion in May. That was more than double the year-earlier figure of €3.1 billion.
The numbers suggest there is still life in German exports, which have accounted for much of the country's economic growth but may begin to face challenges owing to a slowdown in global activity.
The German economy is officially expected to expand by 2.6% this year following growth of 3.6% in 2010, but Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the forecast could be raised above 3% in the coming months.
