(Adds economist comments)
BRUSSELS, March 18 (Reuters) - The euro zone"s non-adjustedtrade deficit narrowed year-on-year in January as exportsincreased five times faster than imports, signalling risingexternal demand but still muted domestic consumption.
The deficit of the 16-country area totalled 8.9 billioneuros ($12.2 billion) in January, down from 12.1 billion a yearearlier as exports rose 5 percent year-on-year and imports only1 percent, the European Union statistics office said.[ID:nBRLIEE60V]
The data "maintains hopes that the euro zone"s recovery willbe helped over the coming months by exports benefiting fromfirmer domestic demand in key overseas markets", said HowardArcher, economist at IHS Global Insight.
"Euro zone exporters will be helped by the marked retreat inthe euro ... although it is the strength of global growth overthe coming months that will be most important to them," he said.
"Meanwhile, the import data suggest that euro zone domesticdemand could be firming after disappointingly contractingmarginally in the fourth quarter of 2009," Archer said.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a deficit of 4.0billion euros. December"s surplus was revised to 4.1 billioneuros from the 4.4 billion euros estimated previously.
More detailed or seasonally adjusted data was not yetavailable.
For all of 2009, the euro zone"s surpluses with its twobiggest trading partners -- Britain and the United States --narrowed to 49.5 billion and 34.7 billion euros respectively.
The single currency area"s trade deficit with China narrowedto 90.1 billion from 119.7 billion in 2008, with Russia to 31.9billion from 43.7 billion and with Japan to 14.4 billion from23.8 billion. (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, editing by Dale Hudson)
Currencies Bonds
No comments:
Post a Comment