The unadjusted trade surplus in the Eurozone jumped year-on-year in October according to new data published by Eurostat, showing that exports were faring much better than imports during the slowdown caused by the pandemic.
Cargo at Rotterdam port, Netherlands. Credit: Daniel Foster / Flickr
Cargo at Rotterdam port, Netherlands. Credit: Daniel Foster / Flickr
Eurostat, the EU's official statistics office, said the 19 eurozone countries' trade surplus with the rest of the world was €30 billion in October, up from €27.2 billion in 2019.
Imports to the eurozone fell 11.7% in October compared with the previous year with exports dropping by 9%.
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Taking seasonal swings into account, October's trade surplus was €25.9 billion, up from €23.7 billion in September as seasonally adjusted goods exports rose month-on-month by 2.1% and imports by 1%.
Eurostat said that exports have recovered faster than imports in the last six months, allowing the trade balance to return to pre-covid levels. However, when compared with figures from February - the month before coronavirus restrictions were imposed - both exports and imports were down by 6.2% and 7.4% respectively.
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The EU's trade deficit with China grew in the period from January to October to €151.1 billion from €140.9 billion in the same period in 2019.
However, the deficit with Russia - Europe's primary oil and gas supplier - fell abruptly to €13 billion from €48.9 billion.
The trade surplus with the US in the first 10 months of 2020 fell slightly to €121.3 billion from €129 billion, and with the UK to €87.9 billion from €109.7 billion.
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