Germany's current account showed a surplus of E4.5bn in February, compared with a surplus of E3.0bn a year ago, while the trade surplus widened to E10.6bn from a surplus of E10.0bn a year earlier. According to provisional figures from the federal statistics office, German exports rose 4.4pc to E53.8bn from the same period a year earlier in February, while imports rose 4.1pc year-on-year to E43.3bn. According to seasonally adjusted data, February exports fell 2.5pc from January, while imports fell 1.6pc on the same basis, the office said.
Exports to EU countries rose 5.7pc year-on-year in February, and to countries outside the EU, they rose 2.8pc year-on-year, the office added. German wholesale prices rose by 0.6pc in March from February, and were up 1.3pc from March a year ago, according to figures from the federal statistics office. Stripped of oil products, wholesale prices in March were unchanged from February and fell 0.5pc year-on-year, the office said. The statistics office also said that consumer prices in Germany rose 0.1pc in March compared to February, and were up 1.2pc year-on-year. //www.fxcentre.com