Ireland's merchandise trade surplus decreased from the previous month in April as imports increased at a notably faster rate than exports, preliminary data released by the Central Statistics Office showed Friday.
The trade surplus increased a seasonally adjusted 3 percent month-on-month to EUR3.43 billion in April. In February, the balance was a surplus of EUR3.13 billion.
Seasonally adjusted exports rose modestly by 1 percent from a month earlier to EUR7.38 billion in April. Compared to April 2012, the value of exports increased 6 percent.
At the same time, the value of imports advanced 4 percent annually to EUR3.96 billion. Year-on-year, external purchases climbed 10 percent.
The annual growth in shipments was influenced by a 12 percent growth in exports of medical and pharmaceutical products and a 58 percent surge in dispatches of office machines and automatic data processing machines.
The largest increases in imports were recorded by medical and pharmaceutical products and machinery and transport equipment.
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