The first estimate for euro area (EA17) trade with the rest of the world in July 2011 gave a 4.3 bn euro surplus, compared with +4.7 bn euro in July 2010. The June 2011 balance was +0.1 bn, compared with +0.4 bn in June 2010. In July 2011 compared with June 2011, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 2.0% and imports by 1.9%.

The first estimate for the July 2011 extra-EU27 trade balance was a 8.0 bn euro deficit, compared with -7.5 bn in July 2010. In June 2011 the balance was -12.8 bn, compared with -11.4 bn in June 2010. In July 2011 compared with June 2011, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 3.2% and imports by 1.4%.

These data are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

EU27 detailed results for January to June 2011

The EU27 deficit for energy increased significantly (-185.4 bn euro in January-June 2011 compared with -144.8 bn in January-June 2010), while the surplus for manufactured goods rose notably (+112.6 bn compared with +78.7 bn).

EU27 trade with all its major partners grew in January-June 2011 compared with January-June 2010, except for imports from South Korea (-7%). The highest increases were recorded for exports to Russia (+36%), Turkey (+35%), India (+25%), China (+23%) and South Korea (+20%), and for imports from Russia (+30%), India (+25%), Brazil (+24%), Norway (+22%) and Turkey (+19%).

The EU27 trade surplus increased with the USA (+35.3 bn euro in January-June 2011 compared with +31.1 bn in January-June 2010), Turkey (+13.1 bn compared with +7.3 bn) and Switzerland (+12.8 bn compared with +7.9 bn). The EU27 trade deficit increased with China (-74.6 bn compared with -72.1 bn), Russia (-49.5 bn compared with -39.9 bn) and Norway (-24.3 bn compared with -18.8 bn), remained nearly stable with Japan (‑10.9 bn compared with -11.1 bn), but fell with South Korea (-2.5 bn compared with -6.4 bn).

Concerning the total trade of Member States, the largest surplus was observed in Germany (+78.5 bn euro in January-June 2011), followed by the Netherlands (+22.8 bn) and Ireland (+21.3 bn). The United Kingdom (‑56.0 bn) registered the largest deficit, followed by France (-45.0 bn), Spain (-23.8 bn), Italy (-22.1 bn), Greece (‑9.5 bn) and Portugal (-8.6 bn).