BERLIN (Reuters) - German industrial production rose by the most in more than eight years in November and the trade surplus widened as exports surged, data showed on Tuesday, in a further sign that Europe's largest economy expanded strongly in the fourth quarter.
Industrial output jumped 3.4 percent, the strongest increase since September 2009, the statistics office said. This compared with the mid-range forecast in a Reuters poll for a rise of 1.8 percent.
Seasonally adjusted exports rose by 4.1 percent on the month while vibrant domestic demand pushed up imports by 2.3 percent, separate data from the statistics office showed.
The exports figure beat expectations for a 1.2 percent rise while imports also came in stronger than the forecast for a 0.8 percent increase.
The seasonally adjusted trade surplus widened to 22.3 billion euros (£19.7 billion) from 19.9 billion euros in October. The November reading was higher than the Reuters consensus forecast for a surplus of 20.9 billion euros.