The port of Hamburg in Germany. The euro zone’s monthly trade surplus rose to a record high at the start of the year thanks to a sharp drop in the price of energy imports and an uptick in exports. Photograph: Wolfgang Rattay/GettyThe euro zone’s monthly trade surplus rose to a record high at the start of the year thanks to a sharp drop in the price of energy imports and an uptick in exports.
Last year, the euro zone recorded a trade surplus of €64bn, a marked improvement from the record €335bn trade deficit it suffered when natural gas and oil prices soared in 2022.The recent fall in oil and gas prices helped to lower euro zone energy imports by a third in the year to January. In January, euro zone exports rose 2.1 per cent from the previous month, boosted by growth in shipments to most big markets, except the US.
However, the recent surge in imports of cheap Chinese electric vehicles has raised fears for the future of European carmakers. Brussels last year launched an anti-subsidy investigation on imported EVs from China after they increased their share of the European market from 1 per cent in 2019 to 8 per cent.