* Trade surplus shrinks to 19.1 bln euros
* Exports to China surge 25.7% y/y, those to UK slump 12.2%
* Industrial output -1.6% m/m in February (Adds economist comment, background)
BERLIN, April 9 (Reuters) - German exports rose in February, boosted by surging trade with China in a fresh sign that factories are busy in Europe’s largest economy despite a sharp drop in trade with the United Kingdom after Brexit.
Seasonally adjusted exports increased by 0.9% on the month after an upwardly revised rise of 1.6% in January, the Federal Statistics Office said on Friday. Imports rose 3.6% after falling 3.5% in the prior month.
A Reuters poll had pointed to a 1.0% increase in exports and a 2.4% rise in imports. The trade surplus shrank to 19.1 billion euros. On the year, exports to China increased by 25.7%.