As a result, the trade deficit for the first eight months of the year reached just under €25.76 billion, lower than the €46.46 billion in the same period of 2022.
For the acting Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez: "Thanks to the dynamism of exports, we are continuing to reduce the trade deficit. We are working to strengthen the competitive position of Spanish companies in international markets.
The coverage rate - the ratio of exports to imports - stood at 90.9% (84.4% in January-August 2022, provisional data).
The ex-energy trade balance showed a deficit of just over €3.83 billion (a €10.9 billion deficit up to August 2022), and the energy deficit fell to almost €21.93 billion (€35.56 billion for the same period in 2022).
The year-on-year growth of Spanish exports between January and August (1.8%) was higher than that recorded in the EU27 (0.6%) and the eurozone (-0.1%). Exports also increased in Germany (1.5%), France (5.2%) and Italy (2.3%). Outside the EU, sales increased in the UK (3.4%), China (0.8%) and Japan (2.1%), while sales in the US (2.1%) decreased. (-2.5%).
The main positive contributions to the annual rate of change of exports from January to August 2023 came from the automotive sector, capital goods and food, beverages and tobacco.
Exports to the EU (62.8% of the total) grew 3.2% year-on-year in the first eight months of the year. Sales to the eurozone (54.9% of the total) increased by 2.4% and sales to the rest of the EU (7.9% of the total) grew by 8.9%.
Exports to third destinations (37.2% of the total) decreased by 0.5% in this period. The increase in Spanish exports to Latin America (16.8%) and Oceania (10.8%) stands out.
The regional governments with the highest growth in their exports were Castilla y León, Catalonia and La Rioja (12.6%).
Data for August 2023
In August 2021, Spanish exports of goods fell by 10% year-on-year to just over €26.17 billion. Imports decreased by 17.3% year-on-year to €30.61 billion. As a result, a deficit of almost €4.44 billion was recorded, which was lower than the €7.94 billion recorded in 2022.
The coverage rate stood at 85.5%, 6.9 percentage points higher than in August 2022 (78.6%).
The non-energy balance showed a surplus of just over €1.83 million (deficit of €3.42 billion in August 2022, provisional data), and the energy deficit decreased to just over €2.6 billion (deficit of almost €4.52 billion in August 2022, provisional data).
The sectors that contributed positively to the annual rate of change of exports in the month were the automotive sector and capital goods.
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