(RTTNews) - The Eurozone trade balance with the rest of the world unexpectedly turned to deficit in August. Also, this was the first deficit since February.

The trade balance showed a shortfall of EUR 4 billion in August compared to July’s revised EUR 12.3 billion surplus. A year ago, the deficit was EUR 11.3 billion. Economists had expected a surplus of EUR 2.5 billion. Exports recorded an annual decline of 23%, while imports dropped 27% in August.

At the same time, the foreign trade on a seasonally adjusted basis showed a surplus of EUR 1 billion in August. This was much smaller than the EUR 6 billion surplus seen in July. Exports declined 5.8% in August from July, reversing last month’s 4.7% growth. Imports dropped 1.3%, following 0.8% increase in July.

Eurozone exports to the U.S. dropped 20% annually in January to July, while imports from the U.S. were down 13%. Exports to the U.K. slipped 26% and that to China fell 4%.

The extra-EU27 trade balance registered EUR 12.1 billion deficit in August, compared with a shortfall of EUR 28.7 billion in August 2008. In July, the trade balance showed EUR 0.6 billion surplus.

The EU27 energy deficit decreased to EUR 132.6 billion in January to July from EUR 227.7 billion in the same period of last year. The trade surplus with the USA fell to EUR 22.4 billion in January to July and that with Switzerland dropped to EUR 7.4 billion. At the same time, the trade deficit with China decreased to EUR 75.2 billion and with Japan dropped to EUR 11.7 billion.

Elsewhere, the European Central Bank said the euro area current account recorded a deficit of EUR 25.4 billion in the second quarter of 2009. This was the result of EUR 30.3 billion deficit in income and EUR 15 billion shortfall in current transfers, which were partly offset by surpluses in goods and services. The four-quarter cumulated current account of the euro area up to the second quarter of 2009 showed a deficit of EUR 118.7 billion compared to a deficit of EUR 33.0 billion a year earlier.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Eurozone, Forex, Japan, Releases, Switzerland, USA.

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