Germany’s trade surplus widened more than expected in May as a sharp drop in imports offset a further decline in exports. Seasonally adjusted data from the Federal Statistical Office showed a surplus of €18.4 billion, beating the €15.5 billion consensus and improving on April’s revised €14.5 billion. Exports slipped 1.4% from the previous month to €129.4 billion, while imports fell 3.8% to €111.1 billion, with customs data pointing to China as the largest source of shipments. France continued to run a sizeable but slightly smaller deficit. Customs figures put the May shortfall at €7.77 billion, compared with €7.97 billion a month earlier, as imports eased to €56.7 billion and exports fell to €48.9 billion. The finance ministry said an improvement in the energy balance was more than offset by weaker sales of manufactured goods, particularly capital equipment and consumer products. In Asia, Japan logged a current-account surplus of ¥3.4364 trillion ($21 billion) in May, up 16.5% on the year, according to the Ministry of Finance. While the goods balance remained in deficit at ¥522.3 billion, inbound tourism provided a record ¥629.2 billion travel surplus for the month, helping to lift the overall external balance. Elsewhere in Europe, Finland returned to surplus, posting a seasonally adjusted €145 million positive trade balance after a €6 million deficit in April, according to preliminary customs data.