The euro area trade surplus was higher than expected in April

In April, the European Union Statistical Office, Eurostat, reported a surplus that was lower than a year ago, but a larger than expected surplus occured in the euro area’s foreign trade.

According to Eurostat’s first estimate: in April, the 19 euro-area Member States generated a surplus of 15.7 billion euros in commodity trade with the rest of the world, which is less than the 17.1 billion euros of a year before. However, analysts expected a lower surplus of 8.8 billion euros forApril for the euro area trade balance. (MTI)