The first estimate for the 18-country eurozone trade in goods with the rest of the world speaks about a surplus of 15.4 billion euro in May 2014 while the April 2014 balance was also 15.4 billion euros. In the same period last year, the common currency block had a surplus of 14.6 billion euros in May while in April 2013 the surplus was 14.2 billion euros. In May this year, compared to April 2014, seasonally adjusted exports of goods rose by 0.6 percent and imports by 0.5 percent, according to the Eurostat. The statistical office’s estimates about the trade balance of the entire EU28 suggest a surplus of 0.6 billion euros compared to 15 billion euros in May 2013. In April 2014, the balance was about a billion euros which marks an increase by 1.4 billion compared to April last year. Seasonally adjusted, the 2014 May’s exports went up by 0.5 percent while imports by 1.4 percent.
The EU28 deficit for energy decreased to 115.2 billion euro in the first four months of this year compared to last year’s 127.5 billion in the same period. The deficit for machinery and vehicles followed very similar patterns. An increase in exports for the entire eurozone was registered with China (9 percent) and South Korea (5 percent). The EU28 registered the highest increase with South Korea (9 percent), Switzerland (6 percent), and Turkey (6 percent). In contrast, the EU28’s trade deficit went down with China (- 41.3 billion euro) and Russia (- 30.8 billion euro). As to the breakdown by individual member states, the largest surplus was observed in Germany followed by the Netherlands, Ireland, and Italy while the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Greece registered the largest deficits.
