Ella 
The trade account of the euro area in April returned to deficit after recording a surplus in March, which narrowed compared with the same period of last year, reflecting the continuous decline in energy import prices since the Russia-Ukraine conflict. According to Eurostat data, there was a seasonally adjusted deficit of 7.1 billion euros in April, which has been in deficit since September 2021 except for March. The unadjusted trade deficit was 11.7 billion euros, down from 34.5 billion a year earlier. Both exports and imports fell, down 3.6 percent and 11.9 percent year-on-year, respectively, with exports down 3.2 percent seasonally adjusted, while imports rose 5.9 percent. The region’s energy trade deficit narrowed in the first four months of 2023 from a year earlier, with imports down 15.2% year-on-year. However, the food trade surplus rose slightly due to higher food prices, while the surplus on manufactured goods rose sharply. From a country perspective, the EU’s trade deficit with Russia has shrunk sharply, from 64.1 billion euros in the same period last year to 7.9 billion euros in the first four months of 2023, with imports falling by 74%.
124
