The euro zone’s trade surplus rose year-on-year in July as exports grew faster than imports, indicating a positive contribution to economic growth at the start of the third quarter, the European Union’s Statistics office data showed.
Eurostat said the non-seasonally adjusted external trade surplus of the 18 countries sharing the euro was 21.2 billion euros (16.86 billion pounds) in July, up from 18.0 billion in July 2013. Exports increased 3 percent year-on-year while imports grew only 1 percent.
Adjusted for seasonal changes, however, and on a month-on-month basis, exports edged 0.2 percent lower in July against June while imports rose 0.9 percent.