18
May
Eurozone trade jumps to surplus
The 16 countries that make up the eurozone had a positive trade
balance for the first time in almost a year.
The eurozone had a trade surplus of 400m euros ($538m;
£353m) in March, its first since a small 20m-euro surplus in
June last year, Eurostat said.
The nations that use the euro had a 1bn euro deficit in
February, which was revised down from an initial 2bn euros.
The news is positive for eurozone nations, whose economies
contracted by 2.5% in the first three months of 2009.
Economists had expected a trade deficit of 300m euros in
March.
The EU's statistics agency Eurostat also said the 27 members of
the European Union had a 9.5bn-euro trade deficit in March, down
from 10.8bn euros in February.
News update from bbc.co.uk/news Monday 18th May 2009