Summary
In the last three months (November 2009 to January 2010), exports increased by 2.0% and imports decreased by 2.5%, comparing to the same period in the previous year (November 2008 to January 2009), leading to a decrease in the deficit of the trade balance by 479.0 millions euro.
In 2009, imports and exports registered the same annual growth rate (-18.1%), however, due to the level difference between their values, the deficit of the trade balance decreased. In quarterly terms, data shows a slowdown in the homologous reductions in both imports and exports, which began in the 2nd quarter for exports and in the 3rd quarter for imports.