Irish trade surplus exceeds 4 bln euros in June
Xinhua, August 15, 2015 Adjust font size:
Ireland's seasonally adjusted exports for June 2015 remained relatively unchanged at 9.01 billion euros compared to the previous month, according to official figures released on Friday.
But the figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed seasonally adjusted imports for June decreased by 213 million euros (236.54 million U.S. dollars) or 4 percent to 4.99 billion euros, leading to an increase of 230 million euros or 6 percent in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to 4.1 billion euros in June.
The main driver behind the June increase was the rise in the exports of medical and pharmaceutical products by 590 million euros or 31 percent to 2.5 billion euros, while exports of machinery and transport equipment increased by 352 million euros or 36 percent to 1.3 billion euros during the month, according to the CSO figures.
The European Union (EU) accounted for 5.62 billion euros or 58 percent of total Irish exports in June, of which 1.49 billion euros or 15 percent went to Belgium and 1.21 billion euros or 13 percent to Britain.
The United States was the main non-EU destination, accounting for 1.88 billion euros or 20 percent of total exports in June.
The EU accounted for 61 percent of the value of imports in June, with 1.33 billion euros or 26 percent of total imports coming from Britain.
The United States with 707 million euros and China with 347 million euros were the main non-EU sources of imports. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollars) Endit