German exports soared in September while industrial output faltered, indicating Europe's largest economy will post solid if unspectacular third quarter growth later this week as the recovery eases. Exports grew twice as fast as expected in September, up 3.0 percent on the month when seasonally adjusted, and the trade surplus reached its widest in nearly two years at 15.6 billion euros, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed on Monday.
"Demand side data for the quarter suggests we have a broad-based continuation of the upswing," said UniCredit's Alexander Koch. "Of course, we are seeing quite a deceleration compared to the previous quarter, but with expectations for quarterly third quarter growth of around 0.75 percent, this is still a rather respectable growth rate for the German economy."
Gross domestic product data is due on November 12. The median estimate in a Reuters poll of 40 economists is for growth of 0.70 percent. By contrast, the German economy expanded at 2.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of the year, its fastest rate in reunified Germany. Output fell by 0.8 percent on the month in seasonally adjusted terms, the Economy Ministry said, missing the median forecast for a 0.5-percent increase in a Reuters poll and sending the euro to the day's low against the dollar.