Eurozone trade surplus rose in February

The trade balance in the 17-nation eurozone rose from $1.7 billion in February 2012 to $13.6 billion in February this year, Eurostat said Monday. The figure, which is a first estimate, follows a $6.2 billion deficit in January, the data agency said. From January, exports rose 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis while imports fell by 2.1 percent. For the larger 27-member European Union, the agency said the trade balance rose to a $2.3 billion surplus in February from a $17.1 billion deficit in February 2012. In January 2013, the trade balance amounted to a deficit of $21.9 billion. From January 2012 to January 2013, exports to most trading partners grew, the exception being India where exports fell 10 percent. Export growth was led by trades with Turkey, Russia and Norway, with exports up 13 percent, 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Regarding imports, "the pattern was mixed," the data agency said. The largest increases for imports January to January were with Turkey and Russia, which had increases of 11 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Norway and Japan had the largest drop in import business for the EU, however, with imports off 12 percent with both trading partners over the January-to-January period. With the United States, the trade surplus grew January to January, rising from $6.7 billion to $7.7 billion.