Eurozone posts record trade deficit in August as energy prices soar

Official estimates revealed on Friday that the eurozone recorded its largest trade deficit in August since it had 19 member states in 2015, as the import bill rose as energy prices rose.

The European Union’s statistics office (Eurostat) said the euro zone’s merchandise trade balance with the rest of the world fell in August by 51 billion euros ($49.7 billion), the highest deficit recorded since Lithuania joined the region in 2015 to become the 19th member.

The deficit has risen sharply since July and amounted to 34 billion euros, declining for the 10th consecutive month, in a major shift for the trading bloc, which used to record a large trade surplus.

The shift from surplus to deficit is the most important reason for the increase in the region’s energy imports bill.

In August, eurozone exports of goods rose 24 percent year-on-year to 231.1 billion euros, roughly in line with the volume of exports in July.

But the increase in exports was less than the import bill, which rose 53.6 percent on an annual basis to 282.1 billion euros.