The eurozone trade balance swung to deficit in February, as imports rose faster than exports, data released by Eurostat showed on Wednesday.
The trade registered a deficit of EUR 7.6 billion in February versus a surplus of EUR 23.6 billion in the same month last year.
On a yearly basis, exports rose an unadjusted 17.0 percent in February and imports grew 38.8 percent.
On a month-on-month basis, exports grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent and imports gained 1.5 percent in February. The trade deficit narrowed to EUR 9.4 billion from EUR 7.7 billion in January.
The EU trade deficit narrowed to a seasonally adjusted EUR 18.4 billion in February from EUR 15.7 billion in January.
During the January to February period, the non-adjusted energy trade deficit of the EU widened markedly to EUR 78.6 billion from EUR 29.7 billion a year ago.
