Irish trade surplus down 21%

Ireland’s trade surplus could be even bigger this year than the record surplus recorded in 2015, despite a number of headwinds affecting Irish exporters.

That is according to Merrion Stockbrokers chief economist Alan McQuaid, who said that, despite a number of factors, including unfavourable foreign exchange movements, and the threat of Britain leaving the EU weighing on Irish exports, a record surplus could be on the cards nonetheless.

His comments came as figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed a large decrease in the seasonally adjusted surplus for February. The €3.77bn surplus is markedly lower than the record high €4.79bn seen in the opening month of 2016.