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Germany exported 0.9% more goods in March compared to the
previous month, the federal statistics office said on Tuesday,
stronger than the 0.4% expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
This followed a revised 1.6% decline in exports in February,
which had prompted Germany's BGA trade association to warn that
falling competitiveness and rising protectionism were taking
their toll on the export-focused economy.
March exports were buoyed by demand in the United States and
China, which climbed 3.6% and 3.7%, respectively.
While the trade rebound spurred optimism, an unexpected fall in
industrial orders painted a mixed picture for the economy.
Industrial orders fell 0.4% on the month in March, the
statistics office reported, missing a forecast increase of 0.4%.
"The order situation is bringing economic optimists back down to
earth," said Alexander Krueger, chief economist at the bank
Hauck Aufhaeuser Lampe.
"Exports are maintaining a favorable level. Ultimately, however,
it is also the imports that are boosting the trade balance. As
things stand, foreign trade will continue to provide growth
impetus in the current quarter," Krueger said.
Imports grew 0.3% on the month, the statistics office said,
following a revised 3.0% rise in February.
The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 22.3 billion euros
in March, compared with a forecast 22.2 billion euros and 21.4
billion in the previous month.
Commerzbank's Joerg Kraemer said weak industrial orders
indicated that gross domestic product would not post strong
growth in the second quarter, after Germany dodged a recession
in the first three months of the year with 0.2% growth.
(Reporting by Amir Orusov, Anastasiia Kozlova and Rachel
MoreEditing by Miranda Murray, Andrew Heavens and Bernadette
Baum)
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