(BRUSSELS) - The 15 nations sharing the euro saw a sharp improvement in their trade balance in February, posting a slight surplus after a huge deficit in January, a first official EU estimate showed Thursday.

The eurozone recorded a trade surplus of 800 million euros (1.3 billion dollars) in February after a deficit of 11 billion euros in January, according to the European Union's Eurostat data agency.

The surplus compared with a deficit of 1.6 billion euros in February 2007, the data showed.

Exports grew 13 percent in February over one year to 130.6 billion euros, outstripping imports, which grew 11 percent to 129.9 billion euros.

Meanwhile, the 27-nation EU showed a trade deficit of 15.3 billion euros in February, down from a deficit of 31.2 billion euros in January and a shortfall of 17.5 billion euros in February 2007.

Further details - Eurostat

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