BRUSSELS. (Reuters.) – In January, the euro zone trade balance fell for the third month consecutively. The rise in energy prices and a sharp uptake in imports caused a dramatic increase in value. Prices rose further after the Russian invasion.

Eurostat reported that the unadjusted trade deficit for the 19 euro-member countries was 27.2 billion euros ($30.1 billion), versus a surplus of 10.7 billion in January 2021.

Import payments increased by 44.3% over the previous year, but export revenues grew only 18.9%.

This was the third consecutive month in deficit, and it was more severe than the two previous months.

The data for all 27 European Union countries showed that the price of imported energy products more than doubled from last year, and there were marked rises in imports of chemicals, machinery, and other raw materials.

Trade deficits between the EU and Russia, its energy supplier, more than doubled to 11 billion euros. The EU’s deficit with Norway increased from 0.1 billion euros to 5.8 million euros in a single year to just 5.8 billion euros. China was also a major contributor to the deficit, which grew almost double with South Korea and India.

The EU maintained surpluses with Britain, the United States and Switzerland.

After adjustment for seasonal swings the eurozone trade also fell for the third month in a row. The 7.7billion euro figure for January however was slightly less than the December 9.7billion euro shortfall.

Click here to view the Eurostat Release

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/news/news-releases

($1 = 0.9038 euros)