May trade balance (non-seasonally adjuted) -€7.8 billion vs -€1.6 billionPrior -€1.0 billion; revised to -€1.2 billion
That is a marked increase in the Eurozone trade deficit as energy imports continue to weigh heavily on the overall trade situation, alongside a smaller surplus in the likes of chemicals and machineries categories.
The overall trade situation is quite a drastic change compared to May last year, which saw a trade surplus of €15.0 billion at the time. Looking at the details, exports in May this year were up 0.1% compared to the same month last year. However, imports were up by a whopping 10.0% this time in May compared to the same month a year ago.
That brings the January to May year-to-date trade balance to just €3.3 billion this year. And that is a significant difference to the surplus posted from January to May last year of €78.7 billion.
Even the seasonally adjusted figure is not looking pretty, with the trade deficit being at €5.0 billion in May this year.
Looking at the breakdown, the trade deficit in energy remains the most critical one with it being at €30.3 billion in May. That compares to the usual €18-20 billion range before the US-Iran conflict started up. The deficit in April was €29.0 billion.
Meanwhile, the trade surplus for chemicals and other related products also dropped further to just €18.4 billion in May. That compares to the larger surplus seen in April of €20.5 billion. The trade surplus for machineries and vehicles is typically a volatile category but also reflected a drop to €4.4 billion in May, compared to the €6.3 billion surplus in April.
Putting all of that together, it mostly accounts for the wider deficit in May compared to the month before. And this marks the biggest deficit since January 2023.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.