The eurozone's trade balance bounced back to a 2.0-billion-euro (2.6-billion-dollar) surplus in September after posting a 5.4-billion-euro deficit the previous month, official data showed Friday.

The trade surplus in September last year in the 12 states that use the single European currency was 1.3 billion euros, as lower oil prices helped to keep import costs down.

The picture for the 25-nation European Union as a whole was much less rosy, with initial estimates showing a deficit of 13.4 billion euros, according to the figures from the EU's Eurostat data agency.

But that was an improvement on the 21.3 billion deficit posted in August.

The September data are encouraging, said Global Insight economist Howard Archer.

"The moderation in oil prices from their early-August peak levels clearly helped to limit imports, while it was particularly encouraging to see that exports rose by a healthy 2.0 percent month-on-month after jumping 4.0 percent in August," he said.

"This boosts hopes that exports can continue to make a healthy contribution to Eurozone growth," he added.

But he warned that "there is a very real risk that Eurozone exporters will be hit by a double whammy of significantly slower global growth in 2007 and an appreciating euro".