German exports rose at their fastest pace this year in May, encouraging expectations that Europe’s largest economy will achieve stronger growth in the second quarter after expanding modestly in the first.
Seasonally-adjusted exports climbed unexpectedly by 1.7% on the month while imports increased by 0.4%.
This widened the trade surplus to €22.8 billion, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed earlier in the month.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected exports to slip by 0.8% and imports to rise by 0.9%.