Trade surplus stays above €4bn

A 17% UNADJUSTED rise in export value in November, coupled with a 2% increase in the value of imports, kept Ireland’s trade surplus above the €4 billion mark for the third consecutive month.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, however, both export and import value fell by 1%, on a month-by-month basis, according to the latest monthly external trade figures from the Central Statistics Office, and the surplus was more or less unchanged, from the previous month, at €4.06bn. When unadjusted, the trade surplus was up by 37% to €4.08bn.

Davy Stockbrokers said the figures indicated that Ireland’s export sector continues to perform strongly. Davy analyst Conall MacCoille added import growth has picked up slowly — “indicative of weak domestic demand” — and is likely to pick up “only gradually” this year “given the pressures on real incomes”.