BERLIN, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The development of German exports and output in March defied growing concerns that the country's ongoing economic boom is coming to an end, official figures by the Federal Statistical Office showed on Tuesday.
In March, German exports were measured by the Wiesbaden-based government statisticians as having increased by 1.7 percent compared to February.
Meanwhile, seasonally-adjusted industrial output rose by 1.0 percent compared to February, and increased 3.2 percent compared to the same period last year.
Speaking to Xinhua on Tuesday, Thiess Petersen, senior economics expert at the Guetersloh-based Bertelsmann Foundation, described the official figures as "surprisingly positive."
Petersen highlighted that industrial output in March in particular developed "astonishingly well" given an unusually severe flu season, public sector strikes, and the timing of the national Easter holiday. Nevertheless, the Bertelsmann expert warned that a recently-revealed fall in new manufacturing orders could be a "first indicator" of weakening economic momentum.
"Punitive import tariffs threatened by the U.S. government currently pose the biggest risk to German growth," Petersen explained. He warned that a further escalation in the trade conflict unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump could force policy makers to "downgrade their expectations" for growth in Germany and the wider world in 2018.
In spite of growing U.S. protectionism, the German Federation of Wholesale and Foreign Trade (BGA) still expects another record year for German exports in 2018.
Figures published by the Federal Statistical Office indicated that imports in March fell by 0.9 percent compared to February and 2.3 percent compared to the same period last year. Germany's seasonally-adjusted international trade surplus was measured by the government statisticians at 22 billion euros (26 billion U.S. dollars) in March.
