RTTNews reports that preliminary data from Destatis showed that Germany's exports to countries outside the European Union grew sharply in May from the same month last year, driven by a surge in shipments to the US and the UK.

Exports to non-EU countries rose 27.9 percent year-on-year to EUR 48.4 billion. Shipments to the US jumped 40.9 percent and those to the UK surged 44.6 percent. Exports to China grew 17.7 percent.

The strong increases were also due to the very low level of foreign trade in May 2020 or base effect, the agency said.

On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, exports to non-EU countries decreased 3.0 percent from the previous month.