German exports rose by 3.9 percent in February year-on-year, the Federal Statistical Office, Destatis, reported Thursday.

It said that based on provisional data, Europe's economic powerhouse shipped goods abroad worth 76.5 billion euros ($82.4 billion) in the month under review.

Imports were up in February as well, but only by 0.8 percent compared with February 2014, Destatis noted on its website.

Controversial trade (im)balance

The office indicated Germany's foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 19.2 billion euros for February, up from 16.2 billion euros a year earlier.

Exports to fellow eurozone nations increased by 1.7 percent and to the larger 28-member European Union by 3.4 percent to total 56.6 billion euros, while shipments to countries outside the EU amounted to 39.2 billion euros, marking a 4.6-percent pickup.

Germany last year logged a new annual export record of 1.133 trillion euros. The main recipients of goods "Made in Germany" were France and the US, followed by the UK, China and the Netherlands. Most goods imported came from the Netherlands, China and France, Destatis said.

hg/cjc (AFP, dpa)