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Germany's trade surplus narrows in April

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Germany's trade surplus narrows in April

Germany's foreign trade surplus narrowed to €19.4 billion in April from €21.6 billion in the previous month, after calendar and seasonal adjustments, according to provisional data from the Federal Statistical Office.

On an adjusted basis, exports slipped 0.3% to €109.2 billion in April from €109.5 billion in the prior month, while imports jumped 2.2% to €89.8 billion from €87.9 billion in March.

The data implies that the economy has shifted down a gear in 2018, according to Jack Allen, European economist at Capital Economics. "This presumably in part reflects the euro's 8% or so trade-weighted appreciation over the past year, and possibly concerns about protectionist policies in the U.S. Nevertheless, we still think that the economy will continue to grow at a decent pace."

Excluding adjustments, Germany's foreign trade surplus shrunk to €20.4 billion in April from €24.7 billion in March.

During April, Germany's exports to European Union member states rose 9% year over year to €66.2 billion, while imports increased 8.9% to €51.8 billion, excluding adjustments. Exports to countries outside the eurozone were up 7.8% on an annual basis in April to €24.3 billion, while imports increased 8.1% to €18.2 billion.

For the four months ended April 30, Germany's exports to EU members reached €263.2 billion, while imports totaled €205.2 billion, excluding adjustments.

Germany's current account surplus was €22.7 billion in April, down from €29.6 billion in March, but higher than the €16.7 billion in April 2017. Surplus from trade in goods shrunk in April to €22.5 billion from €25.9 billion in March, while the deficit from trade in services narrowed to approximately €700 million in April from €800 million.

The euro slipped 0.16% against the dollar as of 2:44 a.m. ET on June 8.