German trade surplus widens in May as exports rise

Berlin: Germany`s trade surplus widened in May as exports grew faster than imports, the federal statistics office Destatis said on Thursday.

In seasonally-adjusted terms, Germany, Europe`s biggest economy, exported 102.1 billion euros ($113 billion) worth of goods in May, 1.7 percent more than in the previous month, Destatis said in a statement.

At the same time, imports grew by 0.5 percent to 79.3 billion euros, leaving a trade surplus -- which is the balance between exports and imports -- of 22.8 billion euros, the statisticians calculated.

The previous month, the trade surplus had amounted to 21.5 billion euros.