German Exports Unexpectedly Rose on Non-European Trade

“German exports unexpectedly rose in October as shipments to countries outside Europe offset weaker demand in the euro area.

Exports adjusted for work days and seasonal changes increased 0.3 percent from September, when they decreased 2.4 percent, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. Economists forecast a 0.3 percent decline, according to the median of 14 estimates in aBloomberg News survey. Imports rose 2.5 percent from September.

While the German economy grew 0.2 percent in the third quarter, the euro area, Germany’s largest export market, succumbed to recession. Weaker demand from the 17-nation currency bloc will impact Germany, the Bundesbank said last week, predicting a contraction in the fourth quarter and stagnation in the first three months of 2013. Still, business confidence unexpectedly rose last month and factory orders, an indicator for future production, jumped 3.9 percent in October.

“The outlook may now be slowly improving with positive signals for Chinese and American growth, but the Eurozone recession is likely to continue to weigh on German exports,” saidChristian Schulz, an economist at Berenberg Bank in London. The rise in imports “does suggest resilience in domestic demand,” he said…”

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