German trade surplus shrinks in September

Germany's exports and imports both rebounded in September after falls a month earlier, as the trade surplus shrank slightly to 19.4 billion euros ($20.9 billion), official data showed Monday.

Demand for goods and services from Europe's biggest economy slowed down in China and other emerging markets, but this was partially compensated by strong exports to the United States and other EU members.

German exports rose a seasonally adjusted 2.6 percent to 100.3 billion euros, and imports were up 3.6 percent to 80.9 billion euros, the federal statistics office Destatis said.

The previous month, exports had plunged 5.2 percent and imports were down 3.2 percent, partially due to seasonal factors, while the trade surplus had stood at 19.6 billion euros.

In unadjusted terms, the trade surplus rose to 22.9 billion euros, Destatis said.

Exports to the EU increased by 7.4 percent year-on-year, exports to the eurozone were up 6.9 percent, and exports to countries outside the EU grew by just 0.4 percent, Destatis calculated.

The weakness of the euro single currency against the dollar has reduced the cost of European products to foreign buyers, giving them a boost this year. Generally, German products such as cars and high-quality machine tools are less price sensitive than those of other countries.