By Maria Martinez
(Reuters) -German exports rose more than expected at the start of the year thanks to rising demand from European Union countries and China, data from the federal statistics office showed on Wednesday.
Exports rose by 6.3% in January compared with the previous month. The result compared with a forecast of a 1.5% increase from a Reuters poll.
"It is a good start to the year for exports. However, after the significant setback in December, a positive figure in January was very likely," said Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank Group.
Germany, with its high export share of gross domestic product, has suffered the most among European countries from a weak global trend in exports.
In 2023, exports fell by 2.2% in real terms compared to the previous year, Gitzel noted. They fell 4.5% in December.
"The hope now is that exports will at least return to slightly positive growth in 2024," he said.
Exports to EU countries rose by 8.9% on the month, while exports to countries outside the EU increased by 3.1%. Exports to China increased by 7.8%, while exports to the United Kingdom fell by 8.1%.
Imports rose by 3.6% from December, the federal statistics office reported, versus analysts' expectations for a 1.8% increase.
The foreign trade balance showed a calendar- and seasonally adjusted surplus of 27.5 billion euros ($29.9 billion) in January, versus a surplus of 23.3 billion euros the previous month.
Sentiment in the German export industry has brightened somewhat in February. The Ifo export expectations index rose to minus 7.0 points in February, up from minus 8.5 points in January.
"The German export economy is hardly benefiting at all from current global economic developments," said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at Ifo. "There's still a lot of room for improvement."
($1 = 0.9208 euros)