The euro zone recorded a trade surplus of 1.7 billion euros in May despite strong euro, the European Union's statistics bureau Eurostat said on Wednesday.
Economists had expected a surplus of 2.2 billion euros in May. It fell from 2.3 billion euros' surplus registered in April. Eurostat previously put the surplus in April at 1.8 billion euros in its first estimate.
A year ago, the 13-nation bloc sharing the same currency was in trade deficit of 3.9 billion euros.
The eurozone exports grew by 7 percent year-on-year in May, slowing from 11 percent increase in April, while imports gained 3 percent, down from 6 percent in the previous month.
With vibrant growth of the eurozone economy and continuous rises in interest rates, the euro has been hovering around its all- time high against the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen, which fueled concerns of the bloc's exporters, particularly in France.
But the figure showed months of appreciation has not hurt the eurozone exports as France complained.
According to Eurostat, the 27-nation EU registered a trade deficit of 15 billion euros in May, up from 13.9 billion euros in the previous month but down from 17.9 billion euros a year ago.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article