Eurozone trade surplus over $4B in January

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA

The euro area's (EA19) trade surplus reached €3.3 billion ($4.03 billion) in January, compared with a deficit of €1.4 billion ($1.48 billion) in the same month in 2017, the EU's statistical office Eurostat announced on Monday.

The euro area's goods export rose 9.1 percent to €178.6 billion ($217.9 billion), while its imports climbed 6.3 percent to €175.4 billion ($213.9 billion) year-on-year in January.

Meanwhile, the EU28 saw a trade deficit of €20.3 billion ($24.77 billion) in January, up 16.6 percent compared with the same month last year.

The EU28's exports were €150.5 billion ($183.61 billion) and imports €170.8 billion ($208.4 billion) in the month, up 6.5 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively, versus January 2017.

In 2017, the EA19 and EU28 both saw trade surpluses of €236 billion ($266.7 billion) and €22.9 billion ($25.9 billion), respectively.

The EA19's exports were $2.19 trillion ($2.48 trillion) and imports €1.96 trillion ($2.21 trillion), while the EU28's exports were €1.88 trillion ($2.12 trillion) and imports €1.86 trillion ($2.09 trillion) in 2017.

The euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate was 1.22 on Jan. 2018, 1.06 on Jan. 2017, and 1.13 in 2017.