German exports down 1.7% in April

New data showedcased Friday that exports from Germany, Europe's biggest economy, dropped 1.7 % in April compared with the previous month , a fall that followed three consecutive months of gains. The Federal Statistical Office said today that Germany exported goods and services worth euro 87.1 billion ($109.5 billion) in April. In year-on-year terms, that was a 3.4 % rise , led by a 10.3 % increase in exports to countries outside the European Union but dampened by a 3.6% drop in exports to other eurozone countries. Germany's trade surplus slipped to euro 14.4 billion in April from euro 17.4 billion in March. The country's imports were down 4.8 in April compared with the previous month, also ending three months of increases. Imports totaled euro 72.7 billion , a 1% year-on-year decrease.