Eurozone Trade Surplus Rises In December

(RTTNews) - The euro area trade surplus increased in December as the decline in imports was faster than a fall in exports, Eurostat reported Monday.

The trade surplus increased to a seasonally adjusted EUR 23.3 billion in December from EUR 21.6 billion in November. Economists had forecast a surplus of EUR 19 billion.

Exports declined 1.1 percent on a monthly basis in December, reversing a 0.5 percent rise in the prior month. At the same time, imports were down 2.4 percent from November, when it decreased 0.5 percent.

On an unadjusted basis, the trade surplus increased to EUR 24.3 billion from EUR 21.2 billion in November.

In 2014, euro area trade in goods registered a surplus of EUR 194.8 billion, compared with EUR 152.3 billion in 2013.

Likewise, the EU28 trade surplus fell to EUR 24.2 billion in 2014 from EUR 51.8 billion in 2013.