German exports jumped by 3.8 percent month-on-month in September, data released Monday by the German Federal Statistics Office showed.
The figure is better than local analysts' forecast of a monthly 2.5-percent increase, adding the sign that Europe's biggest economy is gaining more strength for recovery.
The sharp rise in exports came despite the recent strong performance of the euro, which edged its way back up toward the key 1.50-to-the-dollar mark in early trading Monday.
The office also said German imports jumped by 5.8 percent in September compared with August.
The latest export and import data resulted in the nation's adjusted trade surplus narrowing to 9.9 billion euros (around 14.8 billion U.S. dollars) from 10.6 billion in August.
Compared to a year ago, however, German exports decreased by 18.8 percent and imports by 16.3 percent in September 2009 against September 2008.
What's good for Germany is that the pace of the annual fall in exports and imports appears to be declining.
Year-on-year exports slumped by 20.9 percent in August, while imports fell 20.1 percent.