Euro zone sees unexpected rise in December 2020 trade surplus

This adds a positive contribution to the otherwise shrinking gross domestic product. The European Union's statistics office Eurostat said the unadjusted trade surplus of the 19 countries sharing the euro was EUR 29.2 billion in December 2020, up from EUR 22.6 billion a year earlier and beating expectations of a EUR 25.3 billion surplus. In the whole of 2020, when the COVID-19 ravaged the economy causing a deep recession, the single currency area still recorded a EUR 234.5 billion trade surplus, more than the EUR 221 billion in 2019 as exports fell less than imports.

Eurostat data showed it was mainly much smaller imports of energy, where the deficit fell to only EUR 159 billion euros from EUR 260 billion in 2019, that made the difference, offsetting a smaller surplus from exports of machinery and cars. The European Union's trade deficit with Russia, its main gas and oil provider, fell to EUR 16.2 billion from EUR 57.3 billion in 2019 and swung to a EUR 6.3 billion surplus with another energy supplier Norway, from a gap of EUR 2.6 in 2019.

Adjusted for seasonal swings, the euro zone's trade surplus with the rest of the world was EUR 27.5 billion euros in December 2020,up from EUR 24.9 billion in November 2020.