Germany posts record trade surplus: is it exploiting the euro?

Germany posted a record trade surplus in 2016, just weeks after Donald Trump’s top trade adviser accused the country of exploiting a “grossly undervalued” euro.
The country’s 253bn (215bn) trade surplus was the result of a 1.2pc rise in exports to 1.2 trillion, while imports only rose 0.6pc to 954.6bn, according to the federal statistics office.
The 2016 surplus surpasses the previous high of 244.3bn set in 2015.
“This increase in net exports is a very encouraging sign for Germany,” said Benno Bunse, head of Germany’s economic development agency.
“The overall picture is of an economy developing healthily towards being a place of manufacture and robust consumer-led development.”
Germany’s 2016 current account surplus, which measures the total money flowing in and out of a country, of 266bn, surpassed China’s last year, making it the world’s largest.

This post was published at The Telegraph