Germany's shipments recovered in June but the trade surplus decreased slightly as the increase in imports exceeded export growth.
Exports rose by adjusted 0.3 percent month-over-month in June, reversing a 1.8 percent decrease in May, figures from Destatis showed Tuesday. However, the pace of growth was weaker than the expected 1.1 percent increase.
At the same time, imports grew 1.0 percent over the month, after remaining flat in the preceding month. This was the first increase in four months.
As a result, the foreign trade balance posted a surplus of about EUR 21.7 billion in June, below May's EUR 22.1 billion.
On an annual basis, export growth eased to 1.2 percent in June from 1.6 percent a month ago. Imports went up 0.3 percent, in contrast to a 0.1 percent drop in May.
The trade surplus increased to an unadjusted EUR 24.9 billion in June from EUR 23.9 billion in the corresponding month last year. The surplus for the month was expected to be at EUR 23.0 billion.
The current account balance showed a surplus of EUR 26.3 billion in June versus EUR 25.3 billion in the same month of 2015.
Recent data points have relayed a mixed message. Industrial output decreased by 1 percent in the second quarter from the previous three months.
However, Purchasing Managers' survey showed that the private sector expanded at the fastest pace in 7 months in July as manufacturers and services provided strong support.
Destatis is slated to issue the second quarter GDP data on August 12.
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