Eurozone Handelsbilanzsaldo

The Eurozone trade surplus widened significantly to €23.6 billion in February 2024, the largest since December 2020, from €3.6 billion in the same period last year. Imports slipped by 8.4% to €211.4 billion, reflecting a decline in acquisitions across a wide range of categories, particularly mineral fuels, lubricants and related (-21.7%); crude materials (-20.4%); raw materials (-18.3%); machinery and transport equipment (-7.9%); and manufactured goods (-7.2%). Imports decreased primarily from China, the UK, Russia and Norway. Meanwhile, exports rose 0.3% year-on-year to €235 billion, driven by shipments of raw materials (+3.4%); food, drinks and tobacco (+3.1%); miscellaneous manufactured articles (+2.6%) and crude materials (+2.4%). Among key trading partners, exports increased mainly to the US, UK and Norway, but dropped to Russia and China.