Eurozone Trade Balance Swung to Deficit in November

By Maria Martinez

The eurozone's trade balance swung to a deficit in November, recording a deficit for the first time since January 2014, data from the European Union's statistics agency, Eurostat, showed Friday.

The eurozone's trade deficit in goods--the difference between exports and imports--stood at 1.5 billion euros ($1.72 billion) in November, sharply down from the EUR25.0 billion surplus registered the same month a year earlier.

The reading is well below economists' forecasts, who expected a trade surplus of EUR7.0 billion, according to a FactSet poll.

The deficit was the result of the 32.0% on-year increase in imports in November outpacing the 14.4% on-year rise in exports, the data showed.

Adjusted for seasonal swings, the trade deficit was EUR1.3 billion in November compared with a EUR1.8 billion surplus in October, Eurostat said. Eurozone exports increased 3.0% compared with the previous month, while imports increased 4.5%, the data showed.

Write to Maria Martinez at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-14-22 0514ET