The eurozone's trade surplus more than halved in August from July after exports tumbled 17pc. Figures from EU statistics office Eurostat show that the surplus fell to E6.5bn in August from E13bn in July and was down from E8.7bn a year earlier. In the EU as a whole, the trade surplus with third party countries was E1.3bn in August, down from E6.3bn in July, Eurostat added.
Exports from the eurozone declined by 17.5pc in August from July to E76.5bn, while imports declined by a smaller margin, slipping 12pc to E70bn. Detailed figures for January to July show that Germany had the largest surplus, at E73.3bn, followed by Ireland at E19.5bn. The UK registered the largest deficit - E41.7bn - followed by Spain - E23.4bn.// www.fxcentre.com