The eurozone’s already high trade deficit widened again in August. Compared to the previous month, the seasonally adjusted deficit rose by 6.8 billion to 47.3 billion euros, as the statistics office Eurostat announced on Friday in Luxembourg. This is by far the highest foreign trade deficit since the currency area came into existence. The trade balance had already been in deficit in the previous months.
The development is due to the fact that imports increased more than exports. While exports increased by 3.5 percent, imports increased by 5.5 percent. Energy imports rose particularly sharply – a consequence of the sharp rise in energy prices due to the Ukraine war. The development in the 27 countries of the European Union (EU) was similar to that in the 19 euro countries.
The balance of trade is the difference between exports and imports. As a rule, the euro zone and the EU have significant surpluses in foreign trade. (dpa)