The trade balance of the Eurozone and the EU returned to surplus in December 2023 after both recorded trade deficits with the rest of the world a month earlier, according to the preliminary estimates from the European statistics office Eurostat.
Exports of goods from the Eurozone to the rest of the world in December 2023 shrank by 8.8% to 218.7 billion EUR from 239.9 billion EUR in the same period last year. The imports from the rest of the world also saw a drop of 18.7% to 201.9 billion EUR from 248.3 billion EUR a year earlier.
As a result, in December 2023 the euro area reported a trade balance surplus of 16.8 billion EUR, compared to a deficit of 8.5 billion EUR in December 2022.
The value of trade within the currency bloc fell to 187.2 billion EUR in December 2023, down 14.8% compared to December 2022.
Throughout the year, exports of goods from the Eurozone to the rest of the world fell to 2.840 trillion EUR (1.2% lower compared to January – December 2022), and imports – up to 2.774 trillion EUR (decrease of 13.5% compared to January – December 2022). As a result, the Eurozone recorded a surplus of 65.9 billion EUR compared to 323.2 billion EUR in January-December 2022.
Trade within the eurozone fell to 2,630 trillion EUR in January – December 2023, which represents a decrease of 5.4% compared to January – December 2022.
The first estimate for exports of goods outside the EU in December 2023 amounted to 200.1 billion EUR, which is 9.1% less than the result of the same month a year earlier. The imports from the rest of the world fell 20.3% to 184.5 billion EUR in the final month of 2023 compared to December 2022.
Thus, in December 2023, the EU recorded a surplus of 15.7 billion EUR in trade in goods with the rest of the world, compared to a deficit of 11.5 billion EUR in December 2022.
The value of intra-EU trade shrank to 292.3 billion EUR in December 2023, or 12% less than in December 2022.
For the year, the exports of goods outside the EU fell to 2.554 trillion EUR (or a drop of 0.7% compared to January – December 2022), and imports decreased to 2.513 trillion EUR (by 16.4% less compared to January – December 2022).
As a result, the EU also recorded a surplus of 40.8 billion EUR compared to 434.6 billion EUR in January-December 2022.
Trade within the bloc fell to 4.101 trillion EUR in January-December 2023, or 3.6% less compared to the same period in 2022.
In December 2023, compared to the same month a year earlier, all but one member state recorded a drop in exports. It has shrunk most seriously in Cyprus (by 55.5%), Belgium (by 23.2%) and Estonia (by 21.9%). The only growth was registered in Portugal (0.3%).
In terms of imports, the picture is similar. In December 2023, compared to December 2022, all Member States, with the exception of Denmark (with a growth of 0.7%), recorded a contraction. The largest decreases were registered in Lithuania (-30.1%), Estonia (-26.5%), Latvia (-21.3%), Belgium (-21.0%) and Malta (-20.4%) ).
