Germany January Trade Balance (0700 GMT). Germany’s trade surplus is expected to have declined to €18 bn in January. In December the surplus fell to €18.4 bn, which was the smallest monthly surplus since November 2014. Overall, the total 2016 surplus was the highest ever. Germany’s huge external surplus is seen to be the main driving force of the Eurozone’s record-high surplus. The new US administration has claimed that Germany is a “currency manipulator”, which opens up the legal possibility to retaliate – in other words, start a trade war. The European Union’s macroprudential management hardly gets more credibility ... (full story)