Eurozone edges into trade deficit

A ballooning energy deficit and slowing trade with the United States helped to push the eurozone into an unexpected trade deficit in June, adding to the gloomy outlook for the single currency area. The external trade deficit of the 15 countries using the euro totalled 0.1 billion euros ($149.1 million) in June, the European Union's statistics office Eurostat said in a statement.
This compared with a deficit of 3.9 billion in May and a surplus of 7.5 billion in June 2007, Eurostat said. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a surplus of 1.2 billion euros in June. "Unfortunately, the eurozone's export performance is likely to deteriorate over the near term," said Martin van Vliet, an economist with ING bank.
The May deficit was revised downwards from an initial figure of 4.6 billion euros. The energy deficit in January to May was 124.5 billion euros compared with 89 billion in the same period last year. The strong euro had helped cushion the eurozone from very high dollar-denominated oil prices. Oil prices, along with the euro, have also fallen from recent highs.