Irish Trade Surplus Grows In April

(RTTNews) - Ireland's foreign trade surplus increased in April from a year ago as exports rose amid a fall in imports, figures from the Central Statistics Office showed on Tuesday.

On an unadjusted basis, the trade surplus rose to EUR 11.1 billion in April from EUR 8.6 billion in the corresponding month last year. However, the surplus decreased from EUR 25.0 billion in March.

Exports logged an annual growth of 12.7 percent in April, while imports fell by 0.2 percent.

The seasonally adjusted trade surplus shrank notably to EUR 10.9 billion in April from EUR 23.5 billion in March. Exports plunged 39.3 percent monthly, and imports were 12.0 percent lower.

The monthly decline in exports was driven by a 62.0 percent slump in shipments of goods to the United States. Exports of medical and pharmaceutical products fell by 54.0 percent compared to March.