The euro area trade surplus surged in June driven by the increase in surplus for machineries and vehicles, chemicals and other manufactured goods.
The trade surplus rose to EUR 22.3 billion in June from EUR 14.0 billion in May, data published by Eurostat showed on Friday. This was well above economists forecast of EUR 13.3 billion.
The statistical office said that the improvement reflects an increase of the surplus for machineries and vehicles by EUR 2.9 billion and chemicals by EUR 1.2 billion.
The surplus for other manufactured goods rose EUR 1.2 billion. Moreover, there was a decrease of EUR 2.6 billion in the deficit for energy.
Nonetheless, the trade surplus decreased from EUR 18.0 billion seen in June 2023.
Exports decreased 6.3 percent annually in June after a 0.9 percent drop in May. Likewise, the decline in imports deepened to 8.6 percent from 6.9 percent.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the trade surplus climbed to EUR 17.5 billion from EUR 12.4 billion in May. Exports fell 0.2 percent and imports dropped more markedly by 2.4 percent.
Further, data showed that the EU27 balance showed a EUR 20.9 billion surplus in trade in goods with the rest of the world in June, compared with EUR 18.6 billion last year.