The euro zone swung to a much wider than expected deficit in external trade in August from a surplus a year earlier, data showed today, in yet another sign of a slowing economy.
The unadjusted trade deficit of the 15 countries using the euro totalled €9.3 billion against an upwardly revised gap of €2.0 billion in July and a surplus of €1.5 billion in August 2007, the European Union statistics body said.
Exports fell 2 per cent year-on-year in August while imports rose 7 per cent, Eurostat said.
The figures, although concerning a period before the escalation of the financial crisis, extended a string of data suggesting an economic slowdown in the euro zone.
Many economists believe the currency area entered a recession in the third quarter of 2008.
"Euro zone exporters look to face difficult times ahead and this adds to the increasingly worrying outlook for the euro zone economy," said Howard Archer, chief European economist at Global Insight.
Seasonally adjusted, the trade gap in August shrank to €6.1 billion from €6.7 billion in July, but was wider than the €3.9 billion in June, with exports and imports falling 0.6 per cent and 1.0 per cent month-on-month respectively.
Detailed data for August was not yet available, but a breakdown for January-July showed steep growth in the deficit in energy trade, despite falling oil prices, to €182.7 billion from €126.0 billion in the same period of 2007.
Crude oil costs fell significantly in August from a peak above $147 a barrel in July, but were still much higher than $60-70 in the first half of 2007.
The surplus in trade of manufactured goods increased to €176.8 billion in the first seven months of 2008 from €149.1 billion in the same period last year, as the euro was weakening against the dollar.
The euro has fallen to around $1.35 from a peak above $1.60 in July.
Reuters