By Maria Martinez

German exports increased in October, beating forecasts and surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

Exports rose 4.1% on month in adjusted terms, statistics office Destatis said Thursday. Economists had forecast a 1.1% increase in adjusted terms, according to a poll by The Wall Street Journal.

Imports increased 5.0% on month, Destatis said. The figures account for seasonal swings and calendar effects.

Monthly exports were 3.8% higher than their level in February 2020, the month before restrictions were imposed in Germany because of the coronavirus pandemic, while imports were 13.5% higher.

Germany's trade surplus--the balance of exports and imports of goods--stood at 12.5 billion euros ($14.2 billion) in calendar and seasonally adjusted terms in October. The figure was below expectations from economists polled by The Wall Street Journal who had forecast the trade surplus at EUR13.8 billion.

Compared with October 2020, exports to European Union countries increased by 11.6%, while imports from those countries rose by 14.6%, the data showed.

According to provisional results from Deutsche Bundesbank, the country's central bank, the current account of the balance of payments showed a EUR15.4 billion surplus in October, taking into account the balance of trade in goods including supplementary trade items, services, primary income and secondary income.

Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 09, 2021 02:29 ET (07:29 GMT)

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