The euro zone economy continued to expand at a modest but respectable pace in the third quarter while the trade surplus surged in September on healthy exports to the US, data from Eurostat showed today.
The 20-nation currency bloc has proven unexpectedly resilient to trade strife and uncertainty this year but its rate of expansion remains lukewarm compared to international peers and economists see few catalysts to generate faster growth.
Its economy grew by 0.2% on the quarter, in line with a first estimate from late October, as France and Spain balanced out Germany, which is stagnating for the third year in a row on weak output, poor exports and muted private consumption.
Compared to a year earlier, GDP in the euro zone grew by 1.4%, just ahead of expectations for 1.3% in a Reuters poll of economists, propelled by Spain's continued strong performance.
Separate data showed that the bloc's trade surplus surged to €19.4 billion in September from just €1.9 billion a month earlier, as exports to the US grew quicker than imports, despite a raft of tariffs that had hit demand earlier.
The European Union as a whole had a trade surplus of €22.2 billion with the US in September, above a €6.5 billion figure in August and €18.5 billion a year earlier.
The overall surplus was driven by chemicals, including pharmaceuticals, and machinery sales. This could signal a one-off surge, however, as pharmaceuticals are a historically volatile component, especially because of the large presence of global drug firms located in Ireland for tax reasons.
The euro zone's trade surplus for the month is the highest since March, when US firms stocked up on goods before tariffs kicked in.
Still, economists have warned against reading too much into monthly numbers since they are affected by one-off factors, including frontloading around tariffs.
