For the first time in more than a year, the trade balance of the euro zone was almost balanced again in February. Seasonally adjusted, there was still a deficit of 0.1 billion euros, as the statistics office Eurostat announced on Thursday in Luxembourg. Unadjusted, the trade balance was clearly positive at EUR 4.6 billion.
In the previous months, on the other hand, the balance had been heavily negative in some cases. This was a consequence of the at times significant price increases in the energy sector as a result of the Ukraine war. In the meantime, the prices of natural gas, crude oil and electricity have fallen again somewhat.
Adjusted exports increased by 1.2 percent in February, while imports fell by 3.4 percent. The development in the 27 countries of the European Union (EU) was similar to that in the 20 euro countries. The balance of trade is the difference between exports and imports. As a rule, the euro zone and the EU record surpluses in foreign trade. (dpa)