Euro zone trade surplus expands in July

    In July, the euro zone trade surplus stood at 12.6 billion euros(18.5 billion U.S. dollars), compared with a surplus of 5.4 billion euros (7.95 billion U.S. dollars) in June and a deficit of3.5 billion euros (5.16 billion U.S. dollars) a year ago.

    The strong rise was attributed mainly to an increase in exports, which reflected a stronger world economy.

    Seasonally adjusted exports in July compared to the previous month rose by 4.1 percent, while imports fell by 0.3 percent.