51.   Yet much of the increase came from a surge in demand for German exports, rather than a pickup in domestic orders.

52.   A strong mark sends the price of German exports higher.

53.   Currency shifts, especially the weakening of the mark against the US dollar and other key currencies, triggerred a German export boom and a record foreign trade surplus.

54.   Dresdner Bank and the Bank of China signed an agreement on credits for German exports.

55.   Economists are predicting lower German exports due to the financial crises in Asia and elsewhere.

56.   Economists have pointed to the weakness in the U.S. economy, now in a recession, as one factor hurting German exports.

57.   German exports have reached record heights this year.

58.   German exports do become more expensive, but raw materials priced in dollars cost less in marks, the report noted.

59.   Germans already work less than people in most other countries, he said, adding that a cut in the work week would harm the competitiveness of German exports.

60.   In contrast, German exports of agricultural products to New Zealand, which were declining, were negligible.