Germany's trade surplus, one of the world's largest, narrowed slightly to 245 billion euros ($300 billion) in 2017 from a record 253 billion euros in 2016, as imports outpaced exports, official data showed Thursday.

Imports climbed by 8.3 percent to an all-time high of 1.03 trillion euros, while exports rose at a slightly slower clip of 6.3 percent to 1.3 trillion — also a fresh record, the federal statistics authority Destatis calculated in a statement. – AFP/APP