- Rainer Sartorius, HSBC Trinkaus economist
German trade surplus increased in September, as both exports and imports rose in the reported month, according to Destatis. Monthly exports surged 2.6% to 105.9 billion euros, following a 5.2% plunge in August. Outbound shipments to the European Union soared 7.7%. In the nine months through September, German exports grew by 7.0% year-on-ear to total almost 896 billion euros. At the same time imports rose 3.6% in September after dropping 3.2% a month earlier. As a result, the nation's trade surplus rose to 22.9 billion euros, compared with the 15.4 billion recorded in the preceding month.
Meanwhile, a separate report showed Euro zone investor confidence improved more than expected in November. The investor confidence index climbed to the highest level in three months of 15.1 in the reported month, up from 11.7 in October. It was also above the expected result of 12.7. The current conditions index improved to 16 from 13 in the preceding month. Likewise, the expectations index increased to 14.3 in November from 10.5 in October. Moreover, the investor sentiment index for Germany also strengthened in November, to 20.1 from 17.8 a month earlier.
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