EU trade balance stops shrinking for first time in two years
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The EU trade deficit almost halved in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 87 billion euros after 153 billion euros in the third quarter, follows from Eurostat data. The eurozone trade deficit has grown for 14 consecutive months. It reached the record in August 2022 – 64.7 billion euros in one month.
The main reason for reducing the deficit in the last quarter, Eurostat calls the decline in energy prices at the end of last year – in the fourth quarter, nominal imports of these products fell by 16% qoq. Also, a significant contribution was made by the reduction in imports of raw materials (by 7.1%) and chemical products (by 6.9%). The overall decline in EU imports in the fourth quarter of last year amounted to 7.2% compared to the previous quarter, while the EU increased exports of goods by 1.1%.
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