German exports rose in April, driven by increased trade with the United States, indicating continued recovery in Europe's largest economy. The Federal Statistics Office said on Wednesday that seasonally adjusted exports increased by 0.3% on a monthly basis after an upwardly revised to 1.3% increase in March.
Exports to the United States jumped by 59.9% compared to April of last year, shortly after Germany entered its first lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Over the year, exports to China rose by 16% while sales to the UK rose by 64%, the first increase since the start of the year and the UK's completion of Brexit.
Imports fell by 1.7% after a 7.1% increase the previous month, as more German companies reported bottlenecks and higher raw material costs.
A Reuters poll had indicated that exports increased by 0.5% and imports decreased by 1.1%. The trade surplus grew to 15.9 billion euros from 14 billion euros in March.
