Eurozone exports fall for second month

(BRUSSELS) - Eurozone exports fell for the second month running in July, official data showed on Monday, signalling that foreign trade is not showing the way to recovery in the stagnating single-currency bloc.

Exports from the 18-nation eurozone dipped by 0.2 percent in July compared with June to 168.0 billion euros ($218 billion), the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat said.

Exports had dropped by 0.3 percent the month before.

"The weakening euro may well have hit Eurozone export values in July but this was still undeniably a lacklustre performance," said analyst Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight.

Imports into the eurozone were up by 0.9 percent, the third consecutive monthly rise.

Overall, the 18-nation currency bloc posted a higher 21.2-billion-euro trade surplus in July, up from 16.7 billion euros the month before.

"Eurozone exporters will also be hoping that the Ukraine/Russian ceasefire holds and that tensions gradually ease which would lessen the threat to some important export markets," analyst Archer added.

Across the whole 28-nation European Union, exports also fell, by 0.3 percent over the period, while imports rose 2.3 percent.

EU exports to sanction-hit Russia fell by 13 percent and by 11 percent to India, which is struggling to hold a fragile economic recovery.

In July, powerhouse Germany posted the EU's biggest trade surplus, 100.7 billion euros for the year to date, followed by the Netherlands at 31.1 billion euros.

Britain posted the widest trade deficit, at 60.2 billion euros, followed by France, Spain and Greece.

Euro area international trade in goods surplus €21.2 bn [Eurostat]