EU trade balance back to a surplus of €1 billion

In the second quarter of 2023, after six quarters of registering a deficit, the EU trade balance was back to a surplus level due to declining energy prices. 

Recent trade data shows that in the second quarter of 2023, exports fell by 2.0% and imports by 3.5%, leading to a small trade surplus of €1 billion. This shows a clear improvement from the €155 billion deficit registered in the third quarter of 2022, the highest deficit level since 2019. 

The decrease in extra-EU imports in the second quarter of 2023 was related to a 15.6% drop in energy and a 10.9% decrease in raw materials, compared with the first quarter of 2023. As for exports, all sectors saw a decline, except for machinery & vehicles (+2.5%). The largest export decreases were for energy (-22.5%) and raw materials (-9.3%).

Source dataset: ext_st_eu27_2020sitc

In the second quarter of 2023, the EU had a trade surplus of €15.6bn for food, drinks and tobacco and €48.5bn for chemicals. 

In the second quarter of 2023, the trade balance for machinery and vehicles increased for the third consecutive quarter, reaching €52.4bn. The value is still not close to the highest value registered in the first quarter of 2019 (€60.7bn).

As for energy, the trade balance improved from a deficit of €-115.3bn in the first quarter of the year to €-100.0bn in the second quarter. 

More information

• Statistics Explained article on EU international trade in goods - latest developments
• Thematic section on international trade in goods
• Database on international trade in goods
• Statistics 4 beginners: trade in goods

Methodological notes

•    The figures are based on seasonally adjusted data.
 

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