Eurozone boosts trade surplus despite global clouds

The eurozone sharply increased its trade surplus in May, despite uncertainty hanging over the world economy, European Union data showed on Tuesday. The eurozone posted a surplus of 15.2 billion euros, despite a drop in exports on monthly and annual bases, the EU said. The eurozone trade surplus, largely driven by Germany's export performance, is one of the strong points as the zone struggles to emerge from its debt crisis, and it has underpinned the value of the euro.
A key objective of the countries worst hit by crisis and recession is to boost their competitive position and exports, and therefore growth potential. But in recent months the outlook for growth in emerging markets has been dimmed by uncertainty over the effects of expected tighter monetary policy in the United States. The surplus, equivalent to $20 billion, showed an improvement on a downwardly-revised 14.1 billion euros for April. But there was a 2.3-percent fall in exports after adjustment for seasonal factors, the Eurostat data agency said.
The surplus for May was more than double the 6.6 billion recorded in May 2012. While exports fell, seasonally-adjusted imports also slid, by 2.2 percent. The EU's weak point, its energy deficit, also fell to a deficit of 127.9 billion euros compared to 146.6 billion euros in the same four-month period in 2012. Germany, with 67.3 billion euros in the black, the Netherlands, with 19.2 billion, and Ireland (12.1 billion) posted the biggest national surpluses. Britain and France logged the biggest deficits - 29.2 billion and 25.8 billion respectively.