Germany : Rise in imports narrows trade surplus at end of weak Q2

BERLIN : German imports rose more than exports in June, narrowing the trade surplus as Europe’s largest economy ended the second quarter struggling to regain the dynamism it enjoyed at the start of the year.

Seasonally adjusted exports were up 0.3 percent on the month, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed on Tuesday. This came after a 1.8 percent fall in May, which was the steepest drop in nine months.

Seasonally adjusted imports rose 1.0 percent on the month, the data showed, more than double the median forecast of economists polled by Reuters.

The strong rise in imports narrowed the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to 21.7 billion euros ($ 24.03 billion) from a revised 22.1 billion euros in May.