Source: Sharecast
According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, the international trade in goods surplus was €7.8bn, down sharply on last March’s record €34.1bn and compared to the previous month’s €11.1bn. Consensus had been for a bigger drop, however, to €5.4bn.
Year-on-year, exports of goods to the rest of the world declined by 5.5% to €265.3bn, while imports rose 4.4% to €257.4bn. Eurostat said there had been "substantial reductions" in the surpluses of chemicals and related products as well as in machinery and vehicles, with the former nearly halving to €18.9bn.
In the three months to March, the surplus was €16.6bn in the single currency block, down sharply on the €55.4bn recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
The surplus in the wider EU stood at €5.9bn in March.
The outbreak of war in the Middle East at the end of February and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent global energy prices soaring, weighing heavily on business and consumer sentiment and reigniting inflationary pressures. Supply chains are also facing increasing disruption.