German exports rise more than expected in January

German exports rose more than expected at the start of the year thanks to rising demand from EU countries and China, data from the federal statistics office showed on Wednesday. Exports rose by 6.3% in January compared with the previous month. The result compared with a forecast of a 1.5% increase from a Reuters poll.

Imports rose by 3.6% from December, the federal statistics office reported, versus analysts' expectations for a 1.8% increase.

The foreign trade balance showed a calendar- and seasonally adjusted surplus of 27.5 billion euros ($29.9 billion) in January, versus a surplus of 23.3 billion euros the previous month.

Sentiment in the German export industry has brightened somewhat in February. The Ifo export expectations index rose to minus 7.0 points in February, up from minus 8.5 points in January.

"The German export economy is hardly benefiting at all from current global economic developments," said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at Ifo. "There's still a lot of room for improvement."