Eurozone Exports Fall For Second Month

(RTTNews) - Eurozone exports decreased for the second straight month in February, data from Eurostat showed Friday.

Exports decreased 6.7 percent year-on-year in February, slower than the 7.7 percent fall in January. Likewise, imports dropped 2.2 percent from a year ago, following a 7.8 percent decrease in January.

As a result, the trade balance posted a surplus of EUR 11.5 billion, representing a substantial improvement from the EUR 1 billion deficit in January. The improvement was primarily driven by the machinery and vehicles sector, where the surplus rose to EUR 10.2 billion from EUR 1.5 billion in January.

However, during January to February, the cumulative trade surplus declined to EUR 10.6 billion from EUR 21.8 billion in the same period last year as exports fell more sharply by 7.2 percent. Imports decreased only 5.1 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, exports grew 0.9 percent in February and imports increased 3.5 percent. Consequently, the seasonally adjusted trade surplus fell to EUR 7.0 billion from EUR 12.8 billion in January.