German exports surge more than expected in September (1st Lead)

Nov 9, 2009, 7:20 GMT

Berlin - German exports surged by a more-than-forecast 3.8 per cent in September, adding strength to the recovery in Europe's biggest economy, data released Monday showed.

Analysts had expected Germany's statistics office would report that the world's leading export nation had posted only a 2.5-per-cent increase month-on-month in September.

'Today's numbers show that the export sector should be one of the main drivers of the German economy in the months ahead', said ING Bank economist Carsten Brzeski.

'The German product specialization with a high share of capital goods and high presence in Asian markets, make Germany one of the main beneficiaries of an investment-led global recovery,' he said.

The sharp rise in exports came despite the recent strong performance of the euro, which edged its way back up toward the key 1.50-to-the-dollar mark in early trading Monday.

German imports jumped by 5.8 per cent in September, the statistics office said.

The latest export and import data resulted in the nation's adjusted trade surplus narrowing to 9.9 billion euros (14.8 billion dollars) from 10.6 billion in August.

Analysts are expecting the German economy to record a solid pickup in growth during the run-up to the end of the year after it emerged from its deepest recession in a generation during the second quarter.

But underscoring the scale of the economic downturn that engulfed the nation's economy over the 12 months, September exports were down 18.8 per cent compared with the same month last year. Imports were down 16.3 per cent year-on-year in September.

However, the pace of the annual fall appears to be declining. Year-on-year exports slumped by 20.9 per cent in August, while imports fell 20.1 per cent.