The Republic's trade surplus for April was £973 million, compared to a surplus in April 1997 of £512 million, while preliminary figures for May indicate a surplus of £1.19 billion, according to the Central Statistics Office. Exports for April were valued at £3.55 billion, and imports were £2.58 billion. Initial indications for May show exports of £3.7 billion, and imports of £2.51 billion, leading to an unadjusted surplus of £1.19 billion.

The CSO said a comparison of the figures for January to April and the same months last year shows an increase in exports of 29 per cent, and a rise in imports of 25 per cent. Exports to the US soared by 77 per cent during the period, the CSO said. Exports of organic chemicals jumped 66 per cent to £2.21 billion for the four months, while computer exports rose 26 per cent to £3.01 billion.