Eurozone trade surplus 17.1 bln euros in March

BRUSSELS, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The eurozone was expected to register a trade surplus of 17.1 billion euros (23.4 billion U.S. dollars) in March, down from a surplus of 21.9 billion euros in the same period last year, the European Union (EU) statistics office said Friday.

Compared with February, the eurozone's seasonally-adjusted exports fell by 0.5 percent and imports by 0.6 percent in March.

As for the 28-mumber EU, first estimates of trade balance pointed to a surplus of 3.9 billion euros in March, compared with a surplus of 14.7 billion euros in the same month last year and a surplus of 4.7 billion euros in February this year.

In January and February, the EU deficit for energy decreased, while the surplus for machinery and vehicles dropped compared with the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the highest increase of EU exports was to China at 13 percent, while the highest increase of imports was recorded from South Korea at 11 percent.

The most notable decrease for exports and imports were both recorded with Russia at the 10 percent.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2014-05/16/c_133339757.htm