Investing.com - The euro zone’s trade surplus widened less-than-expected in May, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Eurostat said the trade surplus widened to a seasonally adjusted €15.3 billion in May from a surplus of €15.2 billion in April. Analysts had expected the euro zone’s trade surplus to widen to €16.3 billion.
The data showed that exports totaled €160.5 billion in May, up from €159.6 billion in April, while imports came in at €145.2 billion, down from €144.4 billion in the preceding month.
Following the release of the data, the euro held on to losses against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD shedding 0.18% to trade at 1.3543.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained higher. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 advanced 1%, France’s CAC 40 rallied 1.3%, London’s FTSE 100 picked up 0.9%, while Germany's DAX climbed 1.2%.