Irish trade surplus down 23%

Ireland’s trade surplus fell by 23% in December to its lowest level since July on the back of a marked difference in export and import performance during the month.

According to preliminary figures from the CSO, published yesterday, Irish export value fell by 9% on a monthly basis to €7.5bn in December, while import value jumped by 8% to just over €4bn.

This resulted in the sharp decline in the monthly seasonally-adjusted trade surplus, to just under €3.5bn (down from €4.54bn in November), the lowest level seen since July 2011’s surplus of €3.23bn.