German trade surplus edges lower in February: Destatis

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

FRANKFURT (AFP) — The German trade surplus edged lower in February but still came in well above analysts' expectations, figures released on Wednesday by the federal statistics office showed.

The biggest European economy and leading global exporter posted a provisional trade surplus of 16.9 billion euros (26.6 billion dollars), down slightly from 17.1 billion in January.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected a much bigger drop to 15.2 billion euros.

When the data was adjusted for seasonal variations, exports stagnated compared with their level in January, but nonetheless amounted to 84.6 billion euros, the Destatis office said.

Imports were down by 0.4 percent at 67.7 billion euros.

Compared with the same month a year earlier,...