German exports surged 3.9% in November from the month before, while imports increased 3.5%.
But total exports in the first eleven months of the year were only 0.8% higher than in the same period in 2015, a sign that global economic uncertainties — such as elections in the U.S. and the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union — have been weighing on Europe’s largest export nation.
Germany’s adjusted trade surplus, meanwhile, rose to 21.7 billion euros ($22.9 billion) in November from a revised EUR20.7 billion in October, beating economists’ forecasts of EU20.0 billion.
Germany’s current account balance–a broad measure of an economy’s international financial position–showed a surplus of EUR24.6 billion in November, in non-adjusted terms. The outcome was higher than expected, but below the surplus of EUR24.9 billion recorded in October 2015.