Eurozone merchandise trade surplus increased notably in March from a year ago, as exports grew faster than imports, preliminary figures from Eurostat showed Tuesday.
The unadjusted trade surplus advanced to EUR 23.4 billion in March from EUR 16.1 billion in the same month of the previous year.
Exports surged 11.0 percent year-over-year in March and imports climbed by 7.0 percent.
In the first quarter, total trade surplus for the euro area came in at EUR 52.6 billion, up from EUR 30.7 billion a year earlier. Exports rose by 5.0 percent to EUR 491.2 billion, while imports remained nearly stable at EUR 438.6 bln.
The trade surplus for the European union increased to EUR 10.7 billion in March from EUR 3.6 billion a year ago. Both exports and imports expanded by 14.0 percent and 9.0 percent, respectively.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, total trade surplus in euro area shrank to EUR 19.7 billion in March from EUR 22.6 billion in the previous month. Economists had expected a EUR 21.9 billion surplus for the month.
Exports grew 1.7 percent monthly in March and imports rose by 3.9 percent.
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