Trade surplus surges by 44% in May as export performance remains static

IRELAND’s trade surplus surged by 44% in May to just under €3.8 billion, with export performance static and imports falling by 24% on April’s levels.

According to latest monthly external trade data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), export value amounted to €7.51bn in May, pretty much unmoved from April’s figure, but import value was down by 24% — or €1.2bn to €3.73bn.

On an unadjusted basis, the year-on-year value changes for May were a 0.6% decline for exports and a 5% increase for imports.