€4.6-bn surplus in Aug euro area goods trade; EU sees €1.7-bn deficit

Estimates of euro area balance showed a €4.6-billion ($4.98 billion) surplus in trade in goods in August compared with a €4.8-billion ($5.2 billion) surplus in the same month last year and a €19.7-billion surplus in July this year.

The significant month-on-month (MoM) decrease in euro area trade surplus was mainly driven by a reduced surplus for machineries and vehicles and a shift in the balance for other manufactured goods.

In January to August 2024, the euro area recorded a trade surplus of €129.6 billion compared with €6.2 billion in the corresponding period last year. Goods exports during the period were worth €1,900.6 billion—an increase of 0.3 per cent YoY, and imports were worth €1,771 billion—a decrease of 6.2 per cent YoY.

Intra-euro area trade fell to €1,714.6 billion in the eight-month period—down by 4.2 per cent YoY.

The European Union (EU) trade balance showed a €1.7-billion ($1.84 billion) deficit in trade in goods in August compared with a surplus of €0.4 billion in the same month last year, an Eurostat release said.

The extra-EU exports of goods in August were worth €195.6 billion—down by 1.8 per cent YoY. Imports stood at €197.2 billion in the month—down by 0.8 per cent YoY.

In August this year, the EU balance decreased significantly MoM and shifted from a €16.8 surplus to a €1.7 billion deficit. This decrease was mainly driven by a reduced surplus for machineries and vehicles and an increase in the deficit for other manufactured goods.

In January to August this year, extra-EU exports of goods rose to €1,709.1 billion—an increase of 0.8 per cent YoY, and imports fell to €1,599.8 billion—a YoY decrease of 6.3 per cent. As a result, the EU recorded a trade surplus of €109.3 billion during the period compared with a €12.4-billion deficit in the eight-month period.

Intra-EU trade fell to €2,684.0 billion in the eight months—a drop of 3.2 per cent YoY.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)