EU trade balance posts $22.2B surplus in Jan-Feb

ANKARA

The EU's foreign trade balance saw a €20.2 billion ($22.2 billion) surplus in January-February, the union's statistical authority said on Monday.

The 27-member bloc's exports of goods totaled €337 billion ($370.7 billion) in the first two months of this year, up 0.7% year-on-year, Eurostat data showed.

Its imports from the rest of the world amounted to €316.8 billion ($348.5 billion), falling 1.6% during the same period.

The intra-EU27 trade rose 0.4% on an annual basis to nearly €510.2 billion ($561.2 billion) in January-February.

EU’s 6th largest trading partner

The U.S. was the top market for EU exporters with €62.6 billion ($68.9 billion) or a share of 18.6% of the bloc's total exports.

The EU's other major export markets were the U.K., China, Switzerland, Russia, and Turkey.

On the import side, China was the main source, with €60.5 billion ($66.6 billion), accounting for 19% of total imports.

It was followed by the U.S., the U.K., Russia, Switzerland, and Turkey.

In January-February, the bloc's trade balance saw the highest deficit with China -- €30.6 billion ($33.7 billion) -- and the biggest surplus with the U.S., with €23.8 billion ($26.2 billion).

Turkey has been the sixth-largest trading partner of the EU in the first two months of this year, with a trade volume of €23.6 billion ($26 billion).

EU exports to Turkey totaled €12 billion ($13.2 billion), while imports from the country were €11.6 billion ($12.8 billion) during the same period.