Good news: the combined trade balance of Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain moved further into surplus in July – see first chart.
Bad news: the improvement reflected a further decline in imports, probably related to slumping domestic demand, rather than a pick-up in exports – second chart.
Still, exports have held up despite a global slowdown and domestic credit constraints, while cost competitiveness is improving, promising a future gain in market share at home and abroad.
