monitoring / trading

According to a preliminary estimate by the European statistical agency Eurostat, exports from the euro area in 2012 exceeded imports by €81.8 billion (a year earlier there was a deficit of €15.7 billion). A slowdown in domestic consumption and an increase in supplies abroad also led to a reduction in the balance sheet deficit in the EU as a whole (from €162.7 billion to €104.6 billion, imports increased by 4% compared to 12% in 2011). Let us recall that at the end of the year, the EU economy lost 0.5% of GDP; negative growth in the last quarter was observed not only in problem countries, but also in Germany (minus 0.6%) and France (minus 0.3%). In Italy, the recession has been going on for a year and a half, and the balance sheet has become positive during this time (see chart).

Energy imports - previously the main expenditure item on the EU's balance sheet - increased to €388 billion this year (€329.2 billion of which came from the euro area). Russia is one of the four largest trading partners of the EU (after the USA, Great Britain and China), however, the balance of mutual trade in favor of the Russian Federation decreased over the year from €83.3 billion to €81.2 billion (in relation to Norway, the second largest supplier of energy resources, growth to €46.7 billion was noted). At the same time, net exports of manufactured goods from the euro area amounted to €394 billion, from the EU - €330.8 billion. The final consumers of goods worth approximately €182 billion were ten countries outside the euro area, which explains the reduction in the indicator.

Meanwhile, Germany remains the leader in terms of export volume, increasing its trade surplus by 20% to €174.6 billion, followed by the Netherlands (€46 billion) and Ireland (€39.9 billion). The most significant balance deficit was recorded by Great Britain - €152.9 billion (€113.4 billion a year earlier); imports into the country increased by 10% over the year. France and Spain managed to adjust their figures to €75.2 billion and €30 billion, respectively. The EU hopes to further stimulate the volume of foreign trade and exports by creating a free trade zone with the United States (the trade account surplus of the two countries amounted to €80.2 billion in favor of the EU). According to the European Commission, the positive effect of such a measure is equivalent to 0.3-0.7% of GDP growth. Negotiations will begin this summer, however, France and Italy insist on limiting the scope of the FTA, excluding agriculture and the auto industry from the agreement, while Germany advocates maximum market opening on both sides.

Tatiana Edovina

Europe has restored its trade surplus