Eurozone's foreign trade in goods in April shifted from surplus to deficit

Brussels, June 15 (Xinhua) - Preliminary data released by the European Union Statistics Office on the 15th showed that in April 2026, the eurozone recorded a deficit of 1 billion euros in foreign goods trade. This data not only breaks the previous surplus pattern, but also further confirms the trend of continuous weakening of the eurozone's foreign trade in goods since February this year.

According to the latest revised data from the European Statistical Office, the eurozone had a trade surplus of 4.9 billion euros in March this year. After entering April, there was a significant decline in foreign trade performance, and the trade balance fell directly into the negative range. Compared with the surplus of 8.7 billion euros in April 2025, the trade balance in April this year decreased significantly by 9.7 billion euros year-on-year.

The main reason for the reversal of the eurozone's foreign trade in goods in April was that export growth failed to keep up with the pace of import expansion. The export value of the Eurozone to the outside world for the month was 255.4 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 5.0%; Driven by factors such as energy, the import volume increased significantly by 9.3% year-on-year, reaching 256.4 billion euros. From the perspective of commodity structure, the increase in energy deficit and the decrease in surplus of machinery and vehicle products jointly dragged down the deterioration of trade balance.

From January to April 2026, the cumulative surplus of the eurozone was 12.9 billion euros, while in the same period of 2025, this figure reached 63.7 billion euros, a year-on-year decrease of nearly 80%.

Analysts point out that under the multiple pressures of high energy import costs, declining export momentum of core manufacturing products, and shrinking external core market demand, the trade balance of the eurozone is facing severe challenges.