FRANKFURT (AFP) -- Germany's trade surplus with the rest of the world shrank 4.8 percent in June to 16.5 billion euros (22.7 billion dollars) compared with May, the federal statistics office said Wednesday.

Analysts at Thomson Financial News had foreseen a rise in the June surplus to 18 billion euros from 17.3 billion May.
Nevertheless, the surplus in the current account, a broader measure that groups trade in goods and services as well as certain financial transfers, jumped to 16.6 billion euros in June from 8.9 billion in May, eclipsing market expectations of a surplus of 12.2 billion.
Exports rose 11.9 percent in value in June to 82 billion euros in June compared with the same month last year while imports rose 9.0 percent to 65.5 billion euros.
Most of Germany's exports were to fellow members of the European Union, where sales gained 11.3 percent from June 2006. Exports to Eastern Europe were up an annual 14.4 percent in June.
Sales outside the European Union were also robust, rising 13.1 percent from June 2006