Germanys current account and trade surpluses should narrow sharply in 1987 but they will take a long time to get back to normal levels the Bundesbank said in its 1986 yearly report. The procedure would be slow as an abrupt turnaround in external factors such as oil prices and exchange rates was not expected. It did not specify what levels it considered normal. West Germany posted a record trade surplus of 124 billion marks in 1986 after 86 billion in 1985 and its current account surplus widened to 76.50 billion from 44.6 billion. Signs imports would continue to rise a factor already noted at the start of 1986 while exports rose only slightly would lead to a smaller trade surplus the Bundesbank said. In real terms West German imports rose 5.7 pct in 1986 while exports only increased by 0.8 pct. Germanys current account surplus widened to a provisional 6.6 billion in February from 4.8 billion in January but was down from 6.85 billion posted in February 1986. The trade surplus in February widened to a provisional 10.4 billion marks from 7.2 billion in January and was still above the 6.84 billion reached in the same month the year before.
GERMAN TRADE SURPLUS SHOULD NARROW, BUNDESBANK SAYS