Rising energy bills continue to be primary factor in trade gap
The goods trade deficit of the EU hit €34 billion ($34.4 billion) in June, deteriorating from a surplus of €14 billion the same month last year, the EU’s statistical office reported on Tuesday.
Exports of goods to the rest of the world rose 19.4% to €224.9 billion, while imports surged 48.5% to €258.9 billion over this period.
Intra-euro area trade rose to €366.6 billion, up 23% from a year ago.
“In the first six months of 2022, the highest increases were recorded in the imports and, with a lower value, exports of energy, leading to a significant increase in the EU trade deficit in energy,” it added, noting that the deficit in January-June was minus €290.8 billion, compared to minus €105.6 billion in the same period last year.
Trading partners
The US was the top market for EU exporters in the first six months of the year, with a total volume of €247 billion, rising 29.1% from the same period in 2021.
Other major export markets included the UK, China, Switzerland, Russia and Turkiye.
China, meanwhile, was the main source of imports with €301.7 billion after annual growth of 43.3%.
It was followed by the US, UK, Russia, Switzerland, and Turkiye.
The bloc incurred the greatest deficit of €189.5 billion with China and the highest surplus of €80.6 billion with the US.
EU exports to Turkiye were up 20.3% to €46.9 billion, while the bloc’s imports from that country amounted to €49.4 billion a 33.5% increase posting a €2.5 billion trade deficit with the country.