(Reuters) - German exports rose much more than expected in November as demand in the European Union increased strongly, data from the federal statistics office showed on Monday.
German exports rose by 3.7% in November compared with the previous month. The result compared with a forecast for a 0.3% increase in a Reuters poll.
Imports rose by 1.9% from October, the federal statistics office reported, versus analysts´ expectations of a 0.2% rise.
Exports to EU countries rose by 5.4% compared with the previous month, while exports to countries outside the EU went up 1.8%, the office said.
The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 20.4 billion euros ($22.3 billion) in November, versus a surplus of 17.7 billion euros the previous month.
($1 = 0.9136 euros)
(Reporting by Tristan Veyet in Gdansk and Maria Martinez in Berlin, edited by Linda Pasquini)