Eurozone trade widens more than expected

(Sharecast News) - The eurozone's trade surplus widened by more than expected in May after a significant fall the month before, as ongoing US tariff uncertainty continued to cause dramatic swings in exports. The trade balance for the single-currency region increased to €16.2bn in May, according to figures from Eurostat released on Wednesday, coming in ahead of the €13bn consensus estimate.

This follows a surplus of €11.1bn in April, which dropped from March's all-time high of €37.3bn. Exports to the US had surged in March as companies frontloaded shipments into the US ahead of import tariffs coming into effect in early April.

Eurozone exports increased just 0.9% in May to €242.6bn, while imports into the region fell 0.6% to €226.5bn.

The higher balance was mainly driven by a rebound in exports in chemicals and related products, where the surplus for this category growing to €24.3bn from €22.0bn, along with a modest increase in the surplus of machinery and vehicles, up to €12.9bn from €12.1bn.

Over the first five months of the year in total, the eurozone recorded a trade surplus of €86.5bn, up from €81.4bn for the same period the year before.