Eurozone trade surplus at 15.6 bln euros in July

The eurozone trade surplus stood at 15.6 billion euros (20.4 billion dollars) in July, the European Union's (EU) statistics office Eurostat said on Monday. The surplus figure was 2.1 billion euros in July 2011 and 13.6 billion euros in June. Seasonally adjusted exports and imports fell by 2.0 percent and by 1.2 percent respectively in July compared with June, according to Eurostat. For the 27-nation EU, the trade balance for July 2012 recorded a surplus of 3.1 billion euros, compared with a 10.9 billion-euro deficit a year earlier. Seasonally adjusted exports and imports dropped by 1.7 percent and 1.3 percent respectively in July as against June. (1 euro = 1.31 U.S. dollars)