The unadjusted trade surplus in the Eurozone increased nearly five times in April compared to the previous year, mainly due to a strong recovery in machinery and auto exports, but it is still less than expected.
The European Union's statistics office said that the unadjusted trade surplus of the 19 countries sharing the euro amounted to 10.9 billion euros in April compared to 2.3 billion in April 2020, as total euro area exports rose by 43.2% while imports increased by 37.4%.
Exports of machinery and vehicles from the European Union jumped 11.9% in the first four months of 2021, swelling the surplus in that category to 58.5 billion euros from 48.5 billion euros the previous year.
The European Union's trade deficit widened with its largest trading partner, China, but was offset by growing trade surpluses with the United States and Britain.
Total trade volume of the 27-nation EU with Britain fell after it left the EU internal market at the beginning of the year, but the surplus rose due to a 27.1% drop in imports from Britain in the January-April period while exports fell by only 3.3%.
After adjusting for seasonal factors, the euro zone's foreign trade surplus was €9.4 billion in April, down from €18.3 billion in March.
