EU's trade gap rises to $11.1B in Jan-May

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - The EU’s foreign trade balance saw a deficit of €9.1 billion ($11.1 billion) from January to May, according to data released by Eurostat on Monday.

The new report on euro area international trade in goods surplus showed that, from January to May, the EU exported €786.6 billion ($960 billion) worth of goods, up 1.5 percent year-on-year, while total imports from the rest of the world stood at €795.7 billion ($971 billion), up 1.6 percent compared to the same period last year.

"As a result, the EU28 recorded a deficit of €9.1 bn ($11.1 billion), compared with -€8.1 bn [$8.7 billion] in January-May 2017. Intra-EU28 trade rose to €1,457.3 trillion ($1.8 trillion) in January-May 2018, +4.6% compared with January-May 2017," the statistical authority said.

The five-month average EUR/USD exchange rate was around 1.22 this year, while €1 was trading for $1.08 on average over the same period last year.

The U.S. was the top export market for the EU with exports amounting to €163.1 billion ($199 billion) between January and May.

China, Switzerland, Russia and Turkey came after the U.S., according to official data.

Turkey’s exports to the EU rose to €37.2 billion ($45.4 billion) from January to May, 10.4 percent up from the same period last year.

Over the same period, the bloc imported the most from China -- €151.3 billion ($184.6 billion), or 19 percent of total imports -- followed by the U.S., Russia, Switzerland, and Norway.

The 28-member EU bloc recorded the highest surplus with the U.S. -- €54.8 billion ($66.8 billion) -- and the largest deficit with China -- €69 billion ($84.2 billion) -- in the first five months of this year.