Euro zone reports trade surplus for 2004
The 25 member states of the European Union (EU) reported a trade deficit of €60.9 billion in 2004 against €57.8 billion in 2003, the European Central Bank said (ECB). In 2004, exports rose 10% and imports 9%.
For the EU, the December deficit narrowed to €1.2 billion from €8.5 billion in November 2004.
The 12-nation Euro zone posted a trade surplus of €5.7 billion in December 2004 against €2.7 billion in November 2004.
That brought the full-year 2004 surplus up to €40.2 billion, compared with a 2003 surplus of €22.2 billion.
The ECB said that the Euro zone's current account surplus widened in December to €2.7 billion from €1.7 billion in November.
The difference between the Euro zone and EU results is due in part to a huge deficit incurred by the
UK, which is not a member of the Euro zone.
EU statistics institution Eurostat reported that the EU increased its trade surplus with the US to €69.9 billion in the first eleven months of 2004 from €62.4 billion a year earlier.
However, the trade shortfall with
China rose to €71.6 billion from €58.2 billion. The deficit with
Russia widened as well, from €28 billion to €31.6 billion. On the other hand, the shortfall with
Japan dropped slightly from €28.7 billion to €28.3 billion.