Spain’s Exports Grow By 5.5%, Deficit Shrinks To 6.1% To July

In the period January-July 2015, Spanish exports of goods grew by 5.5% year-on-year to 148.63 billion euros, 3.9 points higher than in the same period 2014 (1.6%). Spanish sales abroad posted a new record high in the period January-July since records began in 1971. The real growth was slightly lower (4.3%) due to export prices calculated using Unit Value Indices (UVIs) growing by 1.2%.

Cumulative results for Spain are in line with those of the European Union (5.4%) and higher than those of the Eurozone (4.9%). In comparison with other countries, of all the major EU economies only Germany (6.8%) posted higher results than Spain, while the results of Italy (5.2%), France (4.7%) and the United Kingdom (-2.0%) are all lower. Outside the EU, Japan’s cumulative growth of 7.8% contrasts with the 5.4% reduction posted by the USA.

Imports, worth 161.51 billion euros, grew in year-on-year terms at a slightly slower rate than exports (4.5%) and have slowed in comparison with last year’s figures, having increased by 2.0 points less (6.5%). In real terms the increase was greater, since the purchase of goods from abroad grew by 6.3% due to prices calculated using UVIs, shrinking by 1.7%.

With these figures, the trade balance in January-July 2015 posted a deficit of 12.88 billion euros, 6.1% lower than in the same period 2014.

The non-energy balance posted a surplus of 3.49 billion euros (9.84 billion euros in the same period 2014), while the energy deficit shrank significantly by 30.5% to 16.37 billion euros, aided by lower energy prices.

Meanwhile the coverage rate stood at 92.0%, i.e. 0.9 percentage points higher than in the period January-July 2014.

Exports to the European Union accounted for 64.6% of the total for the period (63.6% in the same period of the previous year) and grew by 7.2% year-on-year. Exports to the Eurozone, 50.5% of the total (50.0% in the same period 2014) grew by 6.5% year-on-year.

The increase in sales to all our main EU partners is largely due to the European economic recovery: Germany (7.3%), France (5.1%), and Italy (10.8%). In the rest of the EU the 8.0% increase in sales to the United Kingdom is particularly noteworthy.

However, exports to non-EU countries also grew in this period, albeit at a more moderate rate (2.6%). This demand accounted for 35.4% of the total (36.4% in the same period 2014).

We would also highlight the growth of exports to Oceania (14.3%) and America (11.4%). By individual countries, there was strong export growth in the year to Canada (20.8%), USA (13.0%), Chile (29.7%), Mexico (24.5%), China (8.2%), Saudi Arabia (42.8%), United Arab Emirates (20.9%), Egypt (28.5%) and Australia (19.7%).