German budget surplus jumps in first half of year

Official figures show Germany's budget surplus rose to 0.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first half of the year, boosted by higher tax income.

The government pulled in 321.4bn euros in taxes, 3.8% more than a year ago thanks to its steady employment rate.

The German Federal Statistical Office said the country had a surplus of 8.5bn euros (£7.3bn; $11.3bn) in the period between January and June.

The figure was higher than the surplus for the same period a year ago.

For the whole of last year, Germany's budget surplus was 0.2% of GDP.

Budget surpluses are rare among European countries.

Many have deficits of more than 3% of GDP, despite an European Union limit of that level.