EU posts $13.2B trade surplus in August

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - European Union's foreign trade balance ran a €11.3 billion ($13.2 billion) surplus in August compared to the same period last year, the bloc's statistical office revealed on Friday.

The figure was €10.6 last year, according to Eurostat.

"The first estimate for extra-EU exports of goods in August was €139.7 billion, down by 14.0% compared with August 2019," it said.

Imports from the rest of the world stood at €128.3 billion, down by 15.6% compared with the same month in the last year.

Intra-EU trade fell to €208.8 billion in August, -4.2% compared with August 2019.

During the same period, exports of goods decreased for all member states, except Slovenia (+3.7%) and Slovakia (+15.8%).

The largest decreases were registered in Malta (-48.7%), France (-27.2%), Bulgaria (-25.9%) and Greece (-22.0%).

With regard to imports, the picture is similar.

In August 2020, compared to August 2019, all the EU countries recorded significant drops, with the exception of Croatia (+4.9%), Estonia (+6.3%) and Slovenia (+20.2%).

The highest overall falls were registered in Greece and Cyprus (both -36.0%).