Irish Trade Surplus Shrinks In August

(RTTNews) - Ireland's foreign trade surplus decreased in August as exports fell amid an increase in imports, figures from the Central Statistics Office showed on Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted trade surplus dropped to EUR 5.15 billion in August from EUR 5.32 billion in the previous month.

In the corresponding month last year, the trade balance showed a surplus of EUR 5.93 billion.

Exports logged a monthly decrease of 0.1 percent in August, while imports grew by 1.3 percent.

On an unadjusted basis, exports fell 6.7 percent annually in August, and imports were 1.5 percent lower compared to last year. As a result, the trade surplus decreased to EUR 5.25 billion from EUR 6.25 billion last year.

Exports of goods to the US plunged by 38.5 percent annually in August, while those to the EU climbed by 1.5 percent.

Separate official data showed that Ireland's residential property price inflation held steady at 7.4 percent in August. In the capital region, Dublin, prices showed an increase of 5.3 percent.