The EU trade in goods balance with the rest of the world in July 2014 was 1.7 bilion euro surplus, compared with 10.8 billion euro surplus in July 2013.
The euro area trade in goods balance with the rest of the world in July 2014 gave a 21.2 billion euro surplus, compared with 18 billion euro surplus in July 2013.
These figures were released Monday by Eurostat, the EU statistical office.
The EU deficit for energy decreased to 171.8 billion euro in January-June 2014 compared with a deficit of 186.3 billion euro in January-June 2013.
The highest increases in EU exports were registered with China (10 percent in January-June 2014 compared with January-June 2013) and South Korea (8 percent), and for EU imports with South Korea (11 percent), Turkey (7 percent), China and Switzerland (both 5 percent).
The most notable decreases were recorded for exports to Switzerland (22 percent), Russia (13 percent) and India (11 percent), and for imports from Russia and Japan (both 6 percent), Norway and Brazil (both 5 percent).