FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Germany's trade surplus dropped slightly in March, coming in below analysts' expectations, according to data from the Federal Statistics Office released Thursday.
The trade surplus in Germany, Europe's largest economy, was euro16.7 billion (US$25.77 billion) in March, down from euro16.9 billion in February. A Dow Jones Newswires survey of 12 analysts had forecast a surplus of euro16.8 billion (US$25.92 billion).
At the same time, however, the current account surplus rose to euro17.2 billion (US$26.54 billion) in March, from an upwardly revised euro16.1 billion in February. The analysts surveyed by Dow Jones had forecast a current account surplus of euro16.2 billion (US$25 billion) in March.
Exports were up 0.2 percent on the year to euro84 billion (US$129.61 billion), while imports rose 3.3 percent to euro67.3 billion (US$103.84 billion), the statistics office said.
