Euro area external trade deficit €7.6 billion

The first estimate for the eurozone trade in goods balance with the rest of the world in January 2012 gave a €7.6 billion deficit, compared with - €16.1 billion in January 2011. The December 2011 balance was €9.1 billion, compared with - €1.7 billion in December 2010. In January 2012 compared with December 2011, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 1.3% and imports by 2.4%.

The first estimate for the January 2012 extra-EU27 trade balance was a €23.8 billion euro deficit, compared with
- €31.2 billion in January 2011. In December 2011 the balance was €1.6 billion, compared with - €12.1 billion in December 2010. In January 2012 compared with December 2011, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 1.5% and imports by 3.5%.

These data are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

EU27 detailed results for 2011

The EU27 deficit for energy increased significantly (-€387.7 billion in 2011 compared with - €306.9 billion in 2010), as did the surplus for manufactured goods ( €264.8 billion compared with €173.7 billion).

EU27 trade with all its major partners grew in 2011 compared with 2010, except for imports from South Korea
(-8%). The most notable increases were recorded for exports to Russia ( 26%), China ( 20%) and Turkey ( 19%), and for imports from Russia ( 24%), Norway and India (both 18%) and Brazil ( 16%).

The EU27 trade surplus increased with the USA ( € 76.3 billion euro in 2011 compared with €71.9 billion in 2010), Switzerland ( €30.5 billion compared with €22.0 billion) and Turkey ( €25.1 billion compared with €18.9 billion). The EU27 trade deficit fell with China (-€155.9 billion compared with - €169.3 billion), Japan (-€18.5 billion compared with - €21.9 billion) and South Korea (-€3.7 billion compared with - €11.3 billion), but increased with Russia (-€89.9 billion compared with - €73.9 billion) and Norway (-€46.9 billion compared with - €37.5 billion).

Concerning the total trade of Member States, the largest surplus was observed in Germany ( €157.0 billion in 2011), followed by the Netherlands ( €45.1 billion), Ireland ( €43.7 billion), Denmark ( €11.1 billion) and Belgium ( €11.0 billion). The United Kingdom (-€117.4 billion) registered the largest deficit, followed by France (-€84.5 billion), Spain (-€47.2 billion), Italy (-€24.6 billion), Greece (-€20.8 billion), Portugal (-€15.3 billion) and Poland (-€14.6 billion).