Foreign trade in the euro zone developed rather weakly in September. The adjusted trade surplus as the difference between exports and imports fell from 11.1 billion euros in the previous month to 9.2 billion euros, as the Eurostat statistics office announced in Luxembourg on Wednesday. On average, analysts had expected an even more significant decline to 6.7 billion euros.
The development is primarily due to declining exports coupled with higher imports. Exports fell by 0.5 percent and imports rose by 0.3 percent. Foreign trade in the 27 countries of the European Union (EU) developed similarly to that in the 20 countries of the European currency area.
The Eurozone and the EU typically run solid trade surpluses. In recent years, however, there have been some large deficits, most recently due to high import costs as a result of sharp increases in energy prices. Although energy prices have fallen again in recent months, the global economy is weakening. European foreign trade is also feeling the effects of this trend. (dpa)