In the second quarter of 2023, after six quarters of registering a deficit, the EU trade balance was back to a surplus level due to declining energy prices, according to a report published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Recent trade data showed that in the second quarter of 2023, exports fell by 2.0 per cent and imports by 3.5 per cent, leading to a small trade surplus of Euro 1 billion. This shows a clear improvement from the Euro 155 billion deficit registered in the third quarter of 2022, the highest deficit level since 2019.
The decrease in extra-EU imports in the second quarter of 2023 was related to a 15.6 per cent drop in energy and a 10.9 per cent decrease in raw materials, compared with the first quarter of 2023. As for exports, all sectors saw a decline, except for machinery & vehicles (+2.5 per cent). The largest export decreases were for energy (-22.5 per cent) and raw materials (-9.3 per cent).
In the second quarter of 2023, the EU had a trade surplus of Euro 15.6 billion for food, drinks and tobacco and Euro 48.5 billion for chemicals. The trade balance for machinery and vehicles increased for the third consecutive quarter, reaching Euro 52.4 billion. The value is still not close to the highest value registered in the first quarter of 2019 (Euro 60.7 billion).
As for energy, the trade balance improved from a deficit of Euro -115.3 billion in the first quarter of the year to Euro -100.0 billion in the second quarter.
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