German trade surplus down in January

FRANKFURT: Germany's trade surplus narrowed slightly in January, as imports grew faster than exports, official data showed on Tuesday.

In seasonally adjusted terms, Germany exported goods worth 94.5 billion euros ($131 billion) in January, up from 92.5 billion euros in December, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

Imports rose more strongly, to 77.3 billion euros from 74.2 billion euros.

That meant the seasonally adjusted trade surplus -- the balance between imports and exports -- decreased.

In unadjusted terms, however, the trade surplus increased, to 15.0 billion euros in January from 13.9 billion euros in December, as both exports and imports increased, Destatis said.