German trade surplus widens in May as exports rise

Germany's trade surplus widened in May as exports grew faster than imports, the federal statistics office Destatis said on Thursday.

In seasonally-adjusted terms, Germany, Europe's biggest economy, exported 102.1 billion euros ($113 billion) worth of goods in May, 1.7 percent more than in the previous month, Destatis said in a statement.

At the same time, imports grew by 0.5 percent to 79.3 billion euros, leaving a trade surplus -- which is the balance between exports and imports -- of 22.8 billion euros, the statisticians calculated.

The previous month, the trade surplus had amounted to 21.5 billion euros.