Eurozone exports rebound in September
Brussels
THE eurozone trade surplus widened in September, official data showed on Monday, with a rise in exports offering rare good news for an embattled European economy that is worrying the world.
The export turnaround, which breaks a three-month string of declines, comes just days after it was learnt the eurozone eked out 0.2 per cent growth in the third quarter this year.
The European Union's (EU) official Eurostat agency said seasonally adjusted exports rose by 4.2 per cent compared with a month earlier, to US$215 billion.
Imports also rose, but by a slower 3 per cent.
Across the whole 28-nation EU, exports rose by 5.8 per cent over the period, while imports rose 3.2 per cent.
Overall, the currency bloc posted an 18.5 billion euro (S$30 billion) trade surplus in September, up from 8.6 billion euros the month before.
The trade balance measures the difference between imports and exports and its size varies greatly across the 18-nation eurozone.
As expected, powerhouse Germany posted the EU's biggest trade surplus, 138.8 billion euros for the year to date, followed by the Netherlands at 38.5 billion euros.
Non-eurozone Britain posted the widest trade deficit, at 89.8 billion euros, followed by France, Spain and Greece.
British Prime Minister David Cameron warned on Sunday that "red warning lights are once again flashing on the dashboard of the global economy", pointing out that the eurozone was "teetering on the brink of a possible third recession".
Meanwhile, the German central bank predicted on Monday that the German economy will continue to show little sparkle at least until the end of the year.
"The further deterioration in economic expectations and the stagnation of new orders point to a rather sluggish course of economic development in Germany until at least the end of 2014," the Bundesbank wrote in its latest monthly report.
German gross domestic product grew by a meagre 0.1 per cent in the third quarter, after contracting by 0.1 per cent in the preceding three months. And there is little sign that Europe's economic engine will gain traction in the coming months.
"No marked recovery in important euro-area partner countries has yet materialised," the report stated.
"In the light of increased global risks together with uncertainty about the implications of some economic policy measures, there may be a delay before the recovery in corporate investment resumes," it said.
On the positive side, the German economy would benefit from the euro's decline against the dollar, falling oil prices and robust consumer spending thanks to a strong labour market, the Bundesbank said.
The government and leading economic think tanks have recently downgraded their growth forecasts for Germany.
Berlin is currently pencilling in growth of 1.2 per cent for 2014 and both the top German institutes and the International Monetary Fund are forecasting 1.3 per cent growth. AFP
