BERLIN (Reuters) - German industrial output surged in February and the trade balance swelled as the engine room of Europe's largest economy fired on all cylinders to satisfy demand at home and abroad, assuaging angst about rising protectionism.
Industrial output rose by 2.2 percent on the month, matching January's expansion in what the Economy Ministry said had been an "extraordinarily" robust start to the year. A Reuters poll had pointed to a dip of 0.1 percent in February.
"German industry finally returns as a growth engine," said ING economist Carsten Brzeski, pointing to a 13.6 percent surge in construction in February after a weak end to last year.
Seasonally adjusted exports rose by 0.8 percent on the month, while imports fell by 1.6 percent, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed on Friday. A Reuters poll had pointed to exports and imports both dipping by 0.5 percent.
The upshot of the rise in exports and fall in imports was an expansion in Germany's trade surplus to 21.0 billion euros ($22.37 billion) in February from 18.9 billion euros in January.
The readings are the latest in a batch of strong German economic readouts and will help Chancellor Angela Merkel burnish her economic credentials before a Sept. 24 federal election, when she will seek a fourth term.
In March, German business morale hit its highest level in nearly six years, adding to signs that the German economy made a strong start to 2017, helped by rising global demand for cars and machinery.
Also Read
Growth in services also accelerated further in March, pointing to healthy growth in the first quarter..
"All in all, today's good data bode well for growth in the first quarter and suggest that buoyant soft indicators have been right," Brzeski said.
The wider current account surplus expanded to 20.4 billion euros from 14.2 billion euros in January, the data showed.
($1 = 0.9388 euros)
(Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Michelle Martin, Larry King)
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content