Link Securities | According to the first estimate of the Eurozone’s trade balance, the region recorded a deficit of €1.9 billion in trade in goods with the rest of the world in January, compared with €1.4 billion in January 2025.
The increase in the deficit was due to fluctuations in several sectors: the chemicals and related products sector saw a significant decline, falling from a surplus of €24.6 billion in January 2025 to €16.7 billion in January 2026; the machinery and vehicles sector also saw a decline, with a surplus falling from €5.6 billion in January 2025 to €1.6 billion in January 2026; by contrast, the energy sector improved considerably, reducing its deficit from €26.2 billion in January 2025 to €19.2 billion in January 2026.
In January, exports of goods from the Eurozone to the rest of the world amounted to €215.3 billion, representing a 7.6% decrease compared with January 2025 (€232.9 billion). Meanwhile, imports from the rest of the world stood at €217.2 billion, representing a fall of 7.3% compared with January 2025 (€234.3 billion).
Furthermore, in January 2026, the Eurozone’s trade balance in goods shifted from a surplus of €11.2 billion recorded in December 2025 to an overall deficit of €1.9 billion. This change was mainly due to the machinery and vehicles sector, whose surplus fell from €13.2 billion in December to €1.6 billion in January.
In the 2025 financial year, the Eurozone recorded a surplus of €149.9 billion, compared with the €159 billion generated in 2024. Exports of goods from the Eurozone to the rest of the world amounted to €2,938.7 billion (an increase of 2.4% compared to 2024), and imports to €2,788.8 billion (an increase of 2.8% compared to 2024). In the 2025 financial year, intra-EU trade reached €2,670.2 billion, 2.0% more than in 2024.
