German exports recovered as expected in March, boosting hopes of economic revival by the end of the first quarter itself, official data revealed Friday.
Export of goods grew 0.5 percent month-on-month in March, partially offsetting the 1.2 percent drop in February, the Federal Statistical Office said. The monthly rate of expansion matched economists' expectations.
Imports grew 0.8 percent on a monthly basis, after declining 3.9 percent in the prior month. Economists had forecast a 1.5 percent rise for March.
On a yearly basis, exports declined 4.2 percent, deeper than the 2.8 percent fall seen in February. Likewise, the decline in imports worsened to 6.9 percent from 5.9 percent.
Exports of goods to the EU countries decreased 5.4 percent and imports from those countries dipped 3.7 percent. Shipments to the euro area declined 7 percent and imports were 4.6 percent lower than a year ago. Exports to and imports from countries outside EU decreased 2.6 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively.
The foreign trade surplus increased to EUR 18.8 billion in March from EUR 16.8 billion surplus in February. The surplus exceeded the forecast for EUR 17.5 billion surplus.
Similarly, the current account surplus totaled EUR 20.2 billion, larger than last month's EUR 18 billion surplus and a forecast for EUR 19.5 billion.
Economic data released recently underpin recovery hopes. Industrial production increased at a faster pace of 1.2 percent in March as all sub-groups registered growth. New orders in manufacturing also expanded 2.2 percent on strong euro area demand.
In contrast to the recent positive data, the latest Purchasing Managers' survey for April showed that the German manufacturing sector contracted at the fastest pace since December 2012, while the services sector slipped into negative territory.
Moreover, unemployment increased by 4,000 in April to around 2.94 million. Nonetheless, the economy ministry earlier said the labor market would gain further momentum this year and employment would increase.
The leading economic institutes last month estimated a growth of 0.8 percent for this year, while the economy ministry projects a moderate 0.5 percent expansion.
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