TRADE: Eurozone surplus rises to €16.8 bln in June

Euro area trade surplus was €16.8 bln in June, from €15.4 bln in May and €15.7 bln in June 2013, according to Eurostat.
The statistical office of the EU said that in June compared with May, seasonally adjusted exports fell by 0.5%, while imports rose by 0.5%.
“The first estimate for the euro area (EA18) trade in goods balance with the rest of the world in June gave a €16.8 bln surplus, compared with +€15.7 bln in June 2013. The May 2014 balance was +€15.4 bln, compared with +€14.6 bln in May 2013”, Eurostat said.
For the June extra-EU28 trade balance, Eurostat reported a €2.9 bln surplus, compared with €8.6 bln a year earlier. In May, the surplus was €0.5 bln, compared with €15.0 bln the same month last year. Also in June, seasonally adjusted exports fell by 0.3% and imports by 0.1% from May.
Eurostat reported that the highest increases in EU28 exports, for January to May, were with China (+10% in January-May 2014 compared with January-May 2013) and South Korea (+8%), and for EU28 imports with South Korea (+10%), Switzerland and Turkey (both +6%).
The most notable decreases were recorded for exports to Switzerland (-22%), Russia (-12%) and India (-11%), and for imports from Russia (-8%), Brazil (-7%) and Japan (-6%).
The EU28 trade surplus increased with the USA (+€41.8 bln in January-May 2014 compared with +€37.8 bln in January-May 2013), but decreased with Switzerland (+€19.2 bln compared with +€38.0 bln) and Turkey (+€8.3 bln compared with €12.0 bln).
The EU28 trade deficit fell with China (-€50.9 bln compared with -€53.0 bln) and Russia (-€38.6 bln compared with -€39.6 bln) and remained stable with Norway (-€16.9 bln).