German exports rose by 0.7 percent in October 2018 compared to the previous month, while imports rose by 1.3 percent, according to provisional results published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Monday.

In the reported month, the value of exported goods amounted to 117.2 billion euros (133.7 billion U.S. dollars), an increase by 8.5 percent on the same month a year earlier. Imports rose by 11.3 percent to a total of 98.9 billion euros.

"German foreign trade returned with a good individual result in October and presents itself extremely dynamic for the start of the fourth quarter," Holger Bingmann, president of the Federal Association of Wholesale and Foreign Trade (BGA) commented on the numbers.

German goods worth 69.8 billion euros were exported to member states of the European Union while goods worth 55.1 billion euros were imported to Germany from the EU. German exports to EU countries increased by 8.1 percent and imports by 7.5 percent.

To countries outside the European Union, goods with a value of 47.4 billion euros were exported and goods of 43.8 billion euros were imported in October 2018. Compared to same period last year, exports to non-European countries increased by 9.2 percent and imports by 16.4 percent.

Germany continues to have a positive foreign trade balance with a surplus of around 18.3 billion euros. BGA recently predicted that exports would increase by 3.5 percent until the end of the year.