Eurozone Trade Surplus Increased More Than Expected in December

Data showed that the eurozone’s trade surplus with the rest of the world was larger than expected in December, adding an otherwise positive contribution to shrinking GDP.

The European Union statistics office Eurostat said the unadjusted trade surplus of the 19 countries in the eurozone amounted to 29.2 billion euros in December, up from 22.6 billion a year ago, and above expectations for a surplus of 25.3 billion.

In 2020 as a whole, when Covid-19 stormed the economy causing a major recession, the single currency area continued to record a trade surplus of 234.5 billion euros, more than 221 billion euros in 2019 as exports fell less than imports.

Eurostat data reveals that basically, much less energy imports, with the deficit dropping to just 159 billion euros from 260 billion euros in 2019, accounted for this difference, offsetting the effect of a smaller surplus from exports of machinery and cars.

The trade surplus of the European Union with Russia, the main supplier of oil and gas to the bloc, decreased to 16.2 billion euros from 57.3 billion in 2019, and the union turned to record a surplus of 6.3 billion euros with another energy supplier, Norway, from a deficit of 2.6 billion in the previous year.

Adjusted in light of seasonal factors, the eurozone’s trade surplus with the rest of the world reached 27.5 billion euros in December, up from 24.9 billion in November.