Imports and exports in Germany both witnessed a decline during October 2015, with the country's trade surplus increasing during the month.

Exports fell 1.2 per cent in October compared to the previous month, which was more than the expected decline of 0.6 per cent. Imports, meanwhile, declined 3.4 per cent, which was greater than the predicted one per cent fall and represented the biggest drop since April 2012.

As imports fell more than exports, the German trade surplus rose to a seasonally adjusted €20.8 billion (£15.04 billion) in October, up from around €19.2 billion a month ago.

Germany's export performance has proven to be notably volatile in recent months, with the October decline following a 3.6 per cent increase in September. This reflects the declining demand from China and Russia and the relatively strong performance of the eurozone.

Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING Bank in Frankfurt, said: "German exports have become an extremely mixed bag, always up for surprises and full of diverging trends."