Exports from the euro area were still significantly lower in June than a year earlier as a result of restrictive measures due to the coronavirus. According to the European statistical office Eurostat, exports fell by 10% compared to a year earlier. After two months, exports were doing a little better with mins of more than 29%. In the first six months exports were 12.7% lower than in the first six months of last year. Imports of the 19 euro countries fell by 12.2% in June. The trade surplus was EUR 21.2 billion. The economic downturn in the euro area in the second quarter also resulted in a second estimate of 12.1% compared to the previous period. This is by far the sharpest drop since the start of measurements, reports the European statistical office Eurostat. The figure, based on a preliminary estimate, corresponds to the average expectation of economists. Already in the first quarter, the euro area economy declined by 3.6% in 19 countries. The economy of the European Union as a whole shrank by 11.7% compared to the previous three months, which was slightly less bad than the previously estimated 11.9% contraction. This, too, was by far the largest decline recorded by the statistical office.
