Germany posted a record trade surplus in 2016, just weeks after Donald Trump's top trade adviser accused the country of exploiting a "grossly undervalued" euro.

The country's €253bn (£215bn) trade surplus was the result of a 1.2pc rise in exports to €1.2 trillion, while imports only rose 0.6pc to €954.6bn, according to the federal statistics office.

The 2016 surplus surpasses the previous high of €244.3bn set in 2015.

"This increase in net exports is a very encouraging sign for Germany," said Benno Bunse, head of Germany's economic development agency.

"The overall picture is of an economy developing healthily towards being a place of manufacture and robust consumer-led development."

Germany's 2016 current account surplus, which measures the total money flowing in and out of a country, of €266bn, surpassed China's last year, making it the world's largest.

What is a trade/current account surplus?

A country posts a trade surplus when the value of its exports exceeds its imports.

The current account balance is a wider measure that comprises trade, investment income from overseas assets and other payments (in the case of the UK, it includes transfers to the EU budget).

What is the history of Germany's current account surplus?

Germany has run a current account surplus for more than a decade (it ran a small deficit after German reunification in the 1990s).

The surplus shot up at the start of the millennium, following Germany's labour market reforms and as the creation of the eurozone led to booms in southern Europe.