Record exports boosted Germany's trade surplus to its highest ever level of 14.8 billion euros in September, underpinning hopes that Europe's largest economy rebounded strongly in the third quarter.
Preliminary Federal Statistics Office figures on Wednesday showed exports rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent on the month in September to a record 68.6 billion euros, the third straight monthly gain. Imports dipped 1.2 percent to 53.8 billion euros.
Economists polled by Reuters last week forecast that the adjusted trade surplus would widen to 13.3 billion euros from a revised 12.4 billion euros in August.
HVB Group economist Alexander Koch said the data indicated foreign trade had probably made a considerable contribution to growth in the third quarter of this year, underlining Germany's dependence on foreign demand to power the economy.
"We also expect a strong growth contribution from foreign trade in the fourth quarter," he said. "It's possible the slightly negative effect of the domestic economy in the third quarter was more than over-compensated for by foreign trade."
The trade figures confirm positive anecdotal evidence from German companies.
Earlier this month, German truckmaker MAN AG raised its 2006 operating profit forecast after third quarter profits rose nearly 46 percent, boosted by a global trucks boom.
Meanwhile Germany's VDMA engineering association last month raised its 2005 production growth forecast to 4 percent from 3 percent due to robust demand for goods from abroad.
Total German export growth accelerated during the third quarter to some 4.6 percent from just over two percent in the April-June period. Despite dipping in September on the month, imports were up by 5.3 percent in the third quarter.
This yielded a third quarter trade surplus of 41 billion euros, a rise of some 2.5 percent on the quarter.
Dresdner Bank economist Christiane Seyffart said the rise in imports signalled the domestic economy was picking up somewhat. Nevertheless, weak consumer spending remains the big worry, with retail sales falling by almost one percent on the quarter.
The Federal Statistics Office is due to issue an estimate for German third quarter GDP at 0700 GMT on November 15.
The trade data follow significant gains in industrial orders and output in the third quarter, with the former posting their biggest quarterly increase in over five years.
The Ifo institute's gauge of business confidence also hit a five-year high in October, raising hopes for the fourth quarter.
A breakdown of the September trade data showed exports rose 12.8 percent on the year, led by an 18.3 percent rise in exports to countries outside the European Union. Total exports in the first nine months of 2005 were up by 7.1 percent on the year.
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