German exports unexpectedly increased for a third month in March as demand from outside the euro zone offset weaker sales in Europe. Imports climbed 1.2 per cent.

Exports, adjusted for work days and seasonal changes, rose 0.9 per cent from February, when they gained 1.5 per cent, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said.

Economists had forecast a drop of 0.5 per cent, according to the median of 11 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.

The report is the third in as many days to suggest Germany may have returned to growth in the first quarter. Factory orders and industrial production both rose more than economists had forecast in March.

The trade surplus widened to €17.4 billion in March from €14.9 billion in February, yesterday’s report showed. The surplus in the current account, a measure of all trade including services, was €19.8 billion, up from €11.7 billion a month earlier.

With at least eight euro zone economies in recession, German companies are tapping faster-growing Asian markets.

– (Bloomberg)