Strong export growth helped the bloc maintain a hefty annual trade surplus, even as December’s balance narrowed to €12.6bn.
The eurozone closed out 2025 with a solid trade surplus, as exports kept rising even though some major industries brought in less money, according to new figures from Eurostat.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The bloc recorded a €12.6bn surplus in goods trade with the rest of the world in December 2025, underlining the resilience of European exporters at the end of the year.
According to Eurostat, “the first estimates of euro area balance showed a €12.6bn surplus in trade in goods with the rest of the world in December 2025, compared with +€13.9 bn in December 2024”.
Exports from the eurozone reached €234bn in December, up 3.4% year on year from €226.3bn, while imports rose 4.2% to €221.3bn. The result was a comfortable surplus, even though it narrowed slightly compared with a year earlier.
Full-year surplus holds above €160bn
Across the whole of 2025, the eurozone maintained a strong external position.
From January to December 2025, the bloc recorded a €164.6bn trade surplus, only modestly below the €168.9bn surplus seen in the same period of 2024.
Exports for the full year climbed to €2,937.9bn, a 2.4% increase compared with 2024, while imports rose 2.7% to €2,773.3bn. Trade within the eurozone also grew, with intra-euro area trade reaching €2,627.6bn, up 2.0% year on year.
Seasonally adjusted figures show a slight improvement at the end of the year. Eurostat data highlighted that “in December 2025 compared with November 2025, eurozone seasonally adjusted exports increased by 1.1%, while imports increased by 0.6%”.
As a result, “the seasonally adjusted balance was €11.6 bn, an increase compared with November (€10.2 bn)”.
Sector shifts reshape the balance
The story behind the numbers indicates that the composition of the surplus shifted. The overall balance narrowed compared with December 2024 largely because of weaker surpluses in some of the euro area’s traditional industrial strongholds.
Eurostat noted that “this change can be attributed to declines in surplus across certain sectors, notably in chemicals and related products, where the surplus fell from €20.2bn in December 2024 to €16.5bn in December 2025”.
It added that “surplus decreased in the sectors of machineries and vehicles, other manufactured goods and raw materials”.
The energy sector, however, provided a bright spot. Eurostat highlighted that “the energy sector showed improvement, with the deficit reducing from -€24.5bn in December 2024 to -€19.1bn in December 2025”.
EU-wide picture also positive
Across the wider European Union, the pattern was similar. The EU posted a €12.9bn surplus in December 2025, compared with €14.2bn a year earlier.
Extra-EU exports rose to €214.8bn in December, up 2.2% year on year, while imports increased 3.0% to €201.9bn. Over the full year, the EU recorded a €133.5bn surplus, down slightly from €140.6bn in 2024.
Despite the modest narrowing, the data point to a broadly stable trade performance, with export growth continuing into the final month of the year and the bloc maintaining a sizeable external surplus.