MADRID: Spanish goods exports rose by 3.8% in the first ten months of 2015 (1.7 points above that of the same period of 2014, 2.1%) to 208.43 billion euros, an all-time record. In terms of volume, growth stood at 3.1% since export prices measured using Unit Value Indices (UVIs) rose by 0.7%. In turn, imports rose by 3.2% (to 228.96 billion euros). In terms of volume, the increase was greater (5.5%), due to prices falling by 2.2%.
As a result, the trade deficit from January to October amounted to 20.53 billion euros, down 2.7% on the figure posted in the same period of 2014. The coverage rate stood at 91%, 0.5 points higher than in the period January-October 2014 (90.5%).
The non-energy balance posted a surplus of 2.16 billion euros (11.96 billion euros in the period January-October of 2014), while the energy balance improved by 31.3% (energy deficit reduction), due to a substantial fall in energy prices.
The accumulated results for Spain are in line with those posted by the country’s main Eurozone partners. Exports from the Eurozone rose by 4.2% year-on-year, while those from the EU-28 rose by 4.8%. By country, Spain’s rate is similar to that posted by France (3.9%) and Italy (3.5%), higher than that posted by the United Kingdom (-1.6%) and the United States (-6.5%), and lower than that posted by Germany (6.7%) and Japan (5.5%).
