The trade balance of the EU recorded a surplus of 1 billion euros in the second quarter of 2023 according to Eurostat data released today.

The increase is mainly due to falling energy prices, after six quarters of deficits.

Recent trade figures show that in the second quarter of 2023, exports fell by 2.0% and imports by 3.5%, leading to a small trade surplus of €1 billion. This shows a clear improvement from the €155 billion deficit recorded in the third quarter of 2022, the highest deficit level since 2019.

The decrease in non-EU imports in the second quarter of 2023 was related to a 15.6% drop in energy and a 10.9% decrease in raw materials, compared to the first quarter of 2023. In terms of exports, all sectors showed a decline, except for machinery and vehicles (+2.5%). The biggest decreases in exports were recorded in energy (-22.5%) and raw materials (-9.3%).

In the second quarter of 2023, the EU had a trade surplus of €15.6 billion in food, drink and tobacco and €48.5 billion in chemicals.

In the second quarter of 2023, the machinery and vehicle trade balance increased for the third consecutive quarter, reaching €52.4 billion. The value is still not close to the highest value recorded in the first quarter of 2019 (€60.7 billion).

Regarding energy, the trade balance improved from a deficit of -115.3 billion euros in the first quarter of the year to -100.0 billion euros in the second quarter.

Katerina Plati