EU international trade €0.6bn surplus

Euro area trade in goods balance with the rest of the world in September 2013 gave a 13.1 billion euro surplus, compared with 8.6 bn surplus in September 2012. In September 2013 compared with August 2013, exports rose by 1.0 percent while imports fell by 0.3 percent. These data were released Monday by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The EU trade in goods balance with the rest of the world in September 2013 was a 0.6 bn euro surplus, compared with a deficit of 14.5 bn in September 2012. In September 2013 compared with August 2013, exports rose by 0.2 percent while imports fell by 0.2 percent. The EU deficit for energy decreased to 255.5 bn euro in January-August 2013 compared with a deficit of 280.8 bn in January-August 2012, while the surplus for manufactured goods increased to 260.4 bn compared with 227.9 bn. EU imports from most of its major partners fell in January-August 2013 compared with January-August 2012. The most notable decreases were recorded for imports from Japan (17 percent), Brazil (15 percent) and Norway (11 percent). The pattern was mixed for EU exports, with the largest increases registered for exports to Switzerland (32 percent) and Turkey (5 percent) and the most notable falls for exports to India (4 percent), the USA and Japan (both 3 percent).