Eurozone trade surplus beats expectations, hits 8-month high as rising German exports support

Data released by European Union's statistics agency Eurostat on Wednesday showed that euro area trade surplus increased unexpectedly in December to the strongest level in eight months.

Eurozone seasonally adjusted trade surplus rose to EUR 24.5 billion in December from EUR 22.2 billion in November, beating expectations for the surplus to fall to EUR 22.0 billion. Exports were up 2.8 percent month-over-month in December and imports rose by 1.7 percent. On an annual basis, exports and imports grew by 6.0 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively.

German exports continue to grow, supporting eurozone trade surplus. German exports stood at EUR 1 210.3 million in December 2016 while imports amounted to just EUR 953 million.

On an unadjusted basis, the trade surplus totaled EUR 28.1 billion in December compared with EUR 24.4 billion in the same month of 2015. For 2016, total unadjusted trade surplus of the euro area was EUR 273.9 billion versus EUR 238.7 billion in 2015. Exports remained flat, while imports registered a decline of 2.0 percent.