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Record Trade Deficit In The Eurozone

The war in Ukraine has profoundly changed the economic situation of the Eurozone, and this is mainly the case concerning foreign trade.

By EC Invest

Usually, in surplus (+116.4 billion € in 2021), the trade balance of the countries sharing the single currency plunged deeply into the red in 2022 (-314.7 billion).

However, exports jumped by 18% last year, but at the same time, imports exploded by 37.5%. This is due to the cost of imported energy goods. For the European Union, it more than doubled from €390.3 billion in 2021 to €833.7 billion in 2022. Therefore, if Europe could avoid an energy shortage, it had to pay a high price to replace Russian gas.

ECI EUROZONE TRADE DEFICIT GRAPHIC 920x320

It should be noted that the trade deficit vis-à-vis China also widened sharply, to nearly 400 billion last year compared to 250 billion in 2021. More than ever, the Chinese economy remains the workshop of the world. The slowdown in Chinese growth and the growing national preference in the Middle Kingdom also reduced European exports.

The European trade deficit has structural causes, especially the end of cheap Russian energy. This is a new reality that will continue in the coming years and will penalise the economic activity of the old continent.

Europe still has many strategic challenges, so we prefer other stock markets. On the interest rates side, we continue to invest 10% of the neutral (balanced) portfolio in Bonds in the euro area and 5% in Bonds with high Yield in the euro area – they have a little more risk, but the premium pays off.

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