The first estimate for the euro area (EA17) trade in goods balance with the rest of the world in February 2012 gave a 2.8 bn euro surplus, compared with -2.8 bn in February 2011. The January 2012 balance was -7.9 bn, compared with -16.1 bn in January 2011. In February 2012 compared with January 2012, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 2.4% and imports by 3.5%.

The first estimate for the February 2012 extra-EU271 trade balance was a 9.4 bn euro deficit, compared with -10.5 bn in February 2011. In January 2012 the balance was -23.5 bn, compared with -31.3 bn in January 2011. In February 2012 compared with January 2012, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 1.3% and imports by 3.2%.
These data are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

EU27 January 2012 detailed results

The EU27 deficit for energy increased (-35.2 bn euro in January 2012 compared with -32.4 bn in January 2011), as did the surplus for manufactured goods (+14.7 bn compared with +6.1 bn).

EU27 exports to most of its major partners grew in January 2012 compared with January 2011, except for Norway (-4%) and Turkey (-1%). The most notable increases were recorded for exports to Russia (+25%), Brazil (+24%), Switzerland (+22%) and South Korea (+20%). As regards EU27 imports, the largest increases were recorded for imports from Russia and Norway (both +9%) and the largest falls for imports from Japan and Turkey (both -6%).

The EU27 trade surplus increased with the USA (+5.9 bn euro in January 2012 compared with +4.1 bn in January 2011) and Switzerland (+3.0 bn compared with +1.1 bn). The EU27 trade deficit fell with China (-14.7 bn compared with -15.8 bn) and Japan (-1.1 bn compared with -2.1 bn), remained nearly stable with Russia (-9.6 bn compared with -9.7 bn), and increased with Norway (-5.2 bn compared with -4.4 bn).

Concerning the total trade of Member States, the largest surplus was observed in Germany (+13.1 bn euro in January 2012), followed by the Netherlands (+4.2 bn) and Ireland (+3.2 bn). The United Kingdom (-11.6 bn) registered the largest deficit, followed by France (-7.8 bn), Italy (-4.3 bn) and Spain (-3.6 bn).