The first estimates made by Eurostat on trade in goods between the Euro Area (EA-17) and the rest of the world last November recorded a surplus of 13,7 billion euro, against 4,9 billion in November 2011, while the trade balance in October marked a positive balance of 9,3 billion, against the deficit of 0,7 billion in the same period of the previous year. Between October and November 2012, Eurozone exports according to the seasonal adjustment increased by 0,8%, while imports decreased by 1,5%. On the contrary, the aggregate volumes of trade between the countries of the European Union (EU-27) and the rest of the world updated to November 2012 show a deficit of 1,7 billion euros, a marked decrease compared to the same period of the year previous year (-9,3 billion). Last October, the volumes of goods traded presented a negative balance of 9,8 billion, against the figure for October 2011 (-11,3 billion). During the two months considered, according to seasonally adjusted data, exports increased by 1,1%, while imports decreased by 3%.
If we consider the first ten months of 2012, the EU deficit regarding the exchange of energy resources has increased (-347 billion euros against -319,5 billion in the same period of 2011). Instead, a surplus from trade in manufactured goods (294,1 billion against 196,8 billion).
In the first ten months of last year, EU exports grew with most trading partners, except for India (-5%) and Switzerland (-3%). The most notable increases concerned the flows exchanged with South Korea (+18%), Russia (+16%), Japan (+15%), USA (+14%) and Brazil (+13%). On the import side, flows from Switzerland (+15%), Norway and the USA (+9% for both) are growing, while India (-8%) and Japan (-6%) are collapsing. The EU surplus has grown against the USA and Türkiye, while it fell against Switzerland. Self the trade deficit with China, Russia and Japan decreased, instead increased vis-à-vis Norway.
The trade balance was positive for Germany (+157,7 billion), the Netherlands (+41 billion) and Ireland (+35,6 billion), while the greatest deficit involved the United Kingdom (-139,8 billion), France ( -69,1 billion), Spain (-29,3 billion) and Greece (-13,2 billion).
