BERLIN (Reuters) - German exports rebounded in May on higher demand spurred by the lifting of lockdown measures that had been introduced to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday.

Seasonally adjusted exports surged by 9% on the month after diving by 24% in April. Imports rose by 3.5% after a slump of 16.6% the previous month. The trade surplus increased to 7.6 billion euros, the Statistics Office said.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected exports and imports to rise by 13.8% and 12% respectively. The trade surplus was predicted to come in at 5.2 billion euros.

(Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Michelle Martin)