In May 2021, exports and imports of goods recorded nominal year-on-year growth rates of +54.8% and +52.6%, respectively (+82.1% and +61.3% in April 2021, in the same order). It should be noted that these year-on-year rates of change, in May, compare with a month in 2020 when the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt quite intensely. Compared to May 2019, there were rates of change of -5.2% and -7.5%, in the same order, with the decrease in exports and imports of Transport equipment being noteworthy.
Excluding Fuels and lubricants, exports and imports grew by 48.9% and 42.3% respectively (+81.8% and +61.1%, in the same order, in April 2021). Vis-à-vis May 2019, exports and imports decreased by 3.1% and 6.2%, respectively.
The deficit of trade balance in goods increased by EUR 422 million when compared with the same month of 2020 (a decrease of EUR 252 million when compared with May 2019), amounting to EUR 1,369 million in May 2021. Excluding Fuels and lubricants, the trade deficit amounted to EUR 946 million.
In the quarter ended in May 2021, exports of goods increased by 51.5% and imports grew by 38.9%, when compared with the quarter ended in May 2020 (+31.0% and +16.2% in the same order, in the quarter ended in April 2021). Compared with the quarter ended in May 2019, exports increased by 4.4% and imports decreased by 2.7%.
In the accumulated period from January to May 2021, compared to the same period in 2019, exports increased by 1.8% and imports decreased by 6.7%. Concerning both flows, the emphasis was on the decreases in Transport equipment (-8.5% in exports and -31.1% in imports) and increases in Capital goods and parts thereof (+9.8% and +3.0%, respectively) and Industrial supplies (+3.1% and +6.8%, in the same order).