Euro area export and import growth bucks slowdown trend in August

Euro Area's merchandise exports stood at EUR 184.3bn in August, the first Eurostat estimate shows. This translates into an annual increase of 18.2% y/y, substantially accelerating from the July growth rate of 11.4% y/y. That way, the exports essentially bucked the slow-down trend observed since May 2021, which was mainly due to the subsiding low-base effect. Imports did so too. Euro Area's imports of goods were worth EUR 179.5bn in August 2021, jumping by 26.5% y/y. By contrast, the July annual increase was 17.2% y/y.

As a result, the Euro Area recorded a EUR 4.8bn trade surplus in trade in goods with the rest of the world in August 2021, compared to EUR 14bn a year earlier. The narrowing down of the surplus can be explained with the imports growing at a much faster annual rate than the exports. On a seasonally and working-day adjusted terms the situation looks similar. 

Further data and analysis on the Euro Area economy are available on the CEIC Euro Area Economy in a Snapshot – Q3 2021 report.