Lithuania's merchandise trade deficit widened notably in September from a year ago, as imports grew more rapidly than exports, preliminary data from the statistical office showed Wednesday.
The trade deficit rose to EUR 830.0 million in September from EUR 230.3 million in the same month last year. In August, there was a shortfall of EUR 668.3 million.
Exports climbed 41.0 percent year-over-year in September, while imports grew at a much faster pace of 56.1 percent.
The annual export growth was largely driven by increased outflows of mineral fuel, mineral oils and their distillation products, ground vehicles, electrical machines and equipment and their parts.
On a monthly basis, both exports and imports moved up by 2.1 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively.
During the third quarter, the total trade deficit of the country stood at EUR 2.21 billion versus EUR 0.84 billion in the corresponding period last year.
