EU's trade deficit reaches nearly $30B in Jan-Nov 2018

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Foreign trade balance of the EU saw a deficit of €25.2 billion (nearly $30 billion) in January-November 2018, according to the EU's statistical office on Tuesday.

Eurostat said the 28-member bloc's exports of goods surged 4.7 percent year-on-year to reach €1.800 trillion ($2.142 trillion) in the 11-month period of last year.

Imports of the EU from the rest of the world amounted to €1.825 trillion ($2.172 trillion) with an annual hike of 6.7 percent.

In the same period, the intra-EU28 trade went up 5.7 percent on a yearly basis, reaching €3.25 trillion ($3.87 trillion).

One euro was exchanged for $1.19 on average in January-November last year, while the average EUR/USD exchange rate was 1.12 over the same period in 2017.

The U.S. was the top export market for the EU in that period with around €374 billion ($445 billion) or nearly 21 percent of the bloc's 11-month total exports.

By export volume, China, Switzerland, Russia, and Turkey followed the U.S. in the same period.

China was the leading source for the EU's imports with some €363 billion ($432 billion) or almost 20 percent of total imports -- followed by the U.S., Russia, Switzerland, and Norway.

Country-to-country trade balances showed that the bloc saw the largest deficit with China -- nearly €170 billion ($202 billion) --, and the highest surplus with the U.S. -- €129 billion ($153 billion) over the same period.