The good news at least is that the overall trade balance is still running a surplus but that room is narrowing, with it being lesser than the €11.1 billion (revised) surplus in February. In March, the trade balance for energy recorded a deficit of €25.3 billion and that is a marked increase from the €19.7 billion deficit recorded in February.
So in terms of monthly change, that is the biggest net contributor to the narrowing trade surplus. At the same time, there is also a smaller surplus recorded for chemicals and related products on the month.
But in terms of annual change, the March figure for exports are seen down 5.5% compared to the same month last year with imports seen up 4.4% relative to the same period. Putting those two together, the overall trade balance reflects a sharp decline from March 2025 – which was at €34.1 billion.
In terms of year-to-date figures, the euro area trade balance recoded a surplus of €16.6 billion in the first quarter of this year. However, that is way lower than the €55.4 billion recorded in the first quarter of last year. So, that puts things into perspective with the trade situation likely to tighten further as higher energy prices continue to stick in Q2.
And as mentioned last month, it will not be strictly tied to just the energy deficit widening:
“While the energy deficit widening is the main thing to watch out, there could be a secondary impact on manufacturing too. When energy prices surge higher, it will eventually see energy-intensive production become too expensive. And that will also narrow the trade surplus from the chemicals sector for example.”
