HispanicBusiness

German exports posted a solid gain in the first half of the year, despite a sharp drop in demand from the some countries in the 17-member eurozone, data released Thursday showed.

The statistics office said exports from Europe's biggest economy rose by 4.8 per cent in the first half compared with the same period in 2011, helping Germany to avoid a recession.

German imports rose by 2.4 per in the first half with economists expecting the economy will expanding by 1 per cent this year.

But while exports to nations outside the European Union surged by 11.1 per cent during the first six months of the year, exports to Germany's key trading partners in the eurozone slumped by 1.2 per cent.

Dragging down Germany's exports to the currency bloc was a dramatic fall in demand from nations at the centre of the eurozone debt crisis.

This included a 14.3-per-cent drop in exports to Portugal and a 9.2-per-cent decline to Greece. Both nations have been forced to seek bailouts.

Exports to Italy and Spain fell by 8.2 per cent and 9.4 per cent respectively.

The data also showed Germany remained Europe's powerhouse economy with imports from the eurozone increasing by 1.4 per cent.

German exports to nations such as the United States China, Russia and Japan surged in the first half.

This was despite signs that growth in the global economy has lost momentum since the start of the year.

Exports to the United States rose 18.6 per cent and 8.6 per cent to China. Germany is the world's second top exporter after China.

Exports to Japan leapt by 19.9 per cent and by 14.8 per cent to Russia.

German exports to Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia also rose.