- Johannes Gareis, an economist at Natixis
The trade surplus of Germany, the largest economy in the single currency union, widened more than expected in June. The foreign trade balance registered a surplus of 16.9 billion euros in June compared to the last year's figure of 15.7 billion euros. An increase in trade surplus mostly resulted from a decline in both imports and exports. According to the Federal Statistics Office, German exports tumbled by annualized 2.1%, while imports plunged 1.2%. The monthly comparison showed the opposite tendency as exports and imports inched up 0.6% and 0.8% in June compared to May 2013.
Meanwhile, German industrial production came better-than-expected in June. Industrial output jumped 2.4% in June on a monthly basis, compared to a revised 0.8% decline in May and forecasts of a 0.3% gain. The country's manufacturing output surged 2.2% in June, while production of investment goods and construction jumped 4.1% and 1.6%, suggesting that the economy of the currency bloc is stabilizing. Currently, investors are awaiting German and the Eurozone's GDP data due on August 14. The Eurozone's economy is likely to have stagnated in the second quarter and is expected to expand 0.1% in the third quarter.
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