GERMAN exports grew by 3.8 percent on the month in June and reached their highest level since late 2008, official data showed yesterday, bolstering expectations that the economy grew strongly in the second quarter.

Germany, the world's No. 2 exporter after China, exported goods and services worth 86.5 billion euros (US$115 billion) in June, the Federal Statistical Office said.

That was a 28.5 percent increase compared with June 2009 and the highest level since October 2008, when exports totaled 88.7 billion euros, the office said.

Imports rose 1.9 percent on the month to 72.4 billion euros - a 31.7 percent increase on the year and the highest level reported since West Germany started compiling statistics in 1950.

The German economy, Europe's biggest, has settled back into growth over the past year as an improving global economy has boosted its exports - its traditional strength.

Second-quarter gross domestic product figures are due on Friday, and they "should be a cracker," said Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING in Brussels.

Exports are the main driver, while "industrial production has shown an impressive performance and even private consumption seems to have stabilized," he added.

The June foreign trade figures were less spectacular than May's, when exports rose 7.9 percent on the month and imports surged 13.7 percent, but that followed declines in April.

Exports "will eventually slow down," Brzeski said. But strong demand, particularly from Asia, and a weaker euro this year mean that "German manufacturers are looking into a bright near-term future."

Further improvements in manufacturing "should once again stabilize the labor market" at a time when many people already are returning to full-time work, he added.

The euro sank to a four-year low in early June on fears about the eurozone's debt crisis, making European exporters' goods more competitive abroad. The euro has since recovered, but remains well short of the levels it reached late last year.

Germany's foreign trade surplus rose to 14.1 billion euros in June - up from 9.8 billion euros in May and 12.3 billion euros a year earlier, the statistical office said.