German Trade Surplus, Exports Up for January

German exports rose 2.3 percent in January, driven by increased activity in all sectors of the economy, the German Federal Statistics Office, Destatis, said Friday.

Rebounding from a slump in December, Germany saw an increased trade surplus of $17.2 billion, representing an increase of 29 percent on the same time a year before and beating the predictions of analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, rebounded from a 4.4 percent drop in exports in December, to reach roughly $113.3 billion in exports in January, Destatis reported. Germany imported approximately $96 billion in commodities in January.

Approximately 59 percent of Germany's January exports, $67.1 billion, were to other European Union nations, while it received $59.2 billion in imports from other nations in the economic union.

Compared to the previous year, German exports within the EU rose 5.4 percent, while imports from union members rose by a higher rate at 7.4 percent. However, Germany exports outside of the EU rose 15.4 percent for the same period of time, while imports rose only a modest 4.5 percent.

The full implication of the news for the European economy remains unclear as Italy posted a larger-than-expected decline in industrial output in January, The Wall Street Journal reported.