Eurozone trade surplus widens in November

The single currency area's foreign trade surplus with the rest of the world rose again in November, led by an improvement in Germany.

According to Eurostat, the Eurozone's total trade surplus improved from €19.0bn for October to €22.5bn in November.

Economists had forecast a surplus of €23.0bn.

In seasonally adjusted terms, exports jumped by 3.3% month-on-month to reach €187.1bn, while imports rose by 1.6% to €164.6bn.

Exports from all the main euro area economies increased, with those from Germany seeing the steepest rise.

Year-to-date, the bilateral trade surplus with the US widened, from €102.5bn to €107.9bn, while the deficit with China narrowed, from -€163.0bn to -€161.9bn.

Commenting on Monday's figures, Claus Vistesen, chief Eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "Over Q4 as a whole, we think the nominal trade surplus was unchanged, but real net trade probably boosted GDP growth as real imports were depressed by higher oil prices, via the import price deflators.

"Across the Eurozone' main trading partners, the bilateral trade surplus with the U.S. is rising, but likely will come under pressure in the next six months due the lagged hit from a higher EURUSD. The trade surplus with the U.K. also likely struggle as EURGBP remains close to cyclical high, and U.K. consumers’ spending ease."