By Maria Martinez
(Reuters) – German exports rose more than expected in March as U.S. demand increased in anticipation of U.S. tariffs and a gain in industrial production also beat expectations, potentially pointing to an improvement in the sluggish sector.
German exports were up 1.1% in March over the previous month, data from the federal statistics office showed on Thursday. That surpassed a forecast 1.0% increase in a Reuters poll.
Imports were down by 1.4% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with February.
The German trade balance showed a surplus of 21.1 billion euros ($23.9 billion) in March, up from 18.0 billion euros in February.
The far-reaching tariffs announced by the U.S. will deal a major blow to German industry. The U.S. was Germany’s biggest trading partner in 2024, with 253 billion euros worth of goods exchanged between them.
German industrial production rose in March by 3% compared with the previous month, the federal statistics office said on Thursday. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 0.8% rise.
(Reporting by Simon Ferdinand Eibach, Amir Orusov and Tristan Veyet in Gdansk.; Editing by Ludwig Burger)
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