Seasonally adjusted results:

June: -E1.6 billion

MNI survey median: -E1.0 billion
MNI survey range: -E1.7 bln to +E0.2 bln

May: -E0.8 bln (revised from -E0.6 bln)
April: -E2.5 bln (revised from -E2.9 bln)
March: -E1.4 bln (revised from -E2.2 bln)
February: -E2.3 bln (revised from -E2.7 bln)
January: -E3.5 bln (revised from -E3.7 bln)

Non-seasonally adjusted results:

June: +E0.9 billion

May: +E0.2 bln (revised from E0.0 bln)
April: -E5.0 bln (revised from -E4.8 bln)
March: +E1.7 bln (unrevised)
February: -E2.8 bln (revised from -E2.8 bln)
January: -E16.3 bln (unrevised)
—

FRANKFURT (MNI) – The Eurozone’s trade deficit widened more than
generally expected in June in seasonally adjusted terms, as exports fell
back at a slightly faster pace than imports, Eurostat reported on
Tuesday.

After rebounding 1.5% in May, exports fell 4.7% in June to their
lowest level for the year. Imports also reached a six-month low, falling
4.1% following a 0.3% rise.

Taking the second quarter as a whole, exports managed a modest 0.3%
increase, while imports slipped 0.2% compared to 1Q.

Without adjusting for seasonal trends, the trade surplus increased
by E700 million to E900 million in June. Both exports and imports were
up 3% on the year.

The energy trade deficit came to a non-seasonally adjusted E133.4
billion between January and May, up 27% from the same period one year
earlier. Trade in raw materials showed a deficit of E19.0 billion, up
61% on the year, while the manufacturing goods surplus increased 23% to
E117.3 billion.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet was confident
that exports would be supported by a growing global economy.

“However, growth dynamics are currently weakened by a number of
factors contributing to uncertainty, and activity is expected to be
dampened somewhat by the ongoing process of balance sheet adjustment in
various regions and sectors,” Trichet added in his press conference
earlier this month.

Recent indicators suggest that demand from abroad has started to
wane, with optimism regarding the near-term outlook receding.

The July factory PMI showed foreign demand for manufactured goods
falling for the first time in two years, with Germany seeing the
sharpest decline. Declines were also noted in Spain, Austria and the
Netherlands, while France and Greece saw stronger demand.

Manufacturers polled by the European Commission in July were more
pessimistic in assessing their export order books and revised down their
expectations for exports in the third quarter, as fewer respondents were
confident about their competitive position outside the Eurozone.

— Frankfurt bureau: +49 69 720 142; email: frankfurt@marketnews.com —

[TOPICS: M$X$$$,M$XDS$]