MADRID: In turn, imports fell by 0.8% to 88.93 billion euros. In terms of volume however, the increase was greater (up 4.6%), due to prices falling by 5.2%.
As a result, the trade deficit from January to April amounted to 5.58 billion euros, down 28.2% on the figure posted in the same period of 2015 and the second-lowest figure for the first four months of the year since 1998. The rate of coverage stood at 93.7%, in other words, 2.4 points higher than in January-April 2015 (91.3%). The non-energy balance posted a deficit of 189.8 million euros (surplus of 1.49 billion euros in January-April 2015), while the energy balance improved by 41.8% (energy deficit reduction) due to a substantial fall in energy prices.
From a global perspective, the cumulative export results for Spain (up 1.8%) are in contrast to the downturns posted for the Eurozone as a whole (down 0.3%) and the European Union (down 0.8%). Exports also fell in France (down 1.8% year-on-year), Italy (down 0.5%) and the United Kingdom (down 4.6%), while they increased in Germany, albeit to a lesser degree (up 1.5%) than those of Spain. Outside the EU, exports also fell in the United States (down 6.9%), China (down 7.7%) and Japan (down 8.4%).
In the first four months of 2016 exports from the main headings performed positively. Hence, capital goods (19.9% of the total) grew by 3.2% year-on-year, the automotive sector (18.9% of the total) maintained strong growth of 13.4% year-on-year, and the food, beverage and tobacco sector (17.1% of the total) and chemicals sector (14.5% of the total) also posted stronger export figures, up 4.6% and 0.8%, respectively. In contrast, lower exports were posted by the energy products sector (down 8.3% year-on-year) due to low energy prices, the non-chemical semi-manufactured products sector (down 4.8%), commodities (down 13.3%) and other goods (down by 50.9%).
As a result, the main positive contributions to exports came from the following sectors: automotive (contribution of 2.3 percentage points to the increase in total exports), food, beverage and tobacco (0.8 points), consumer manufactures (0.8 points), and capital goods (0.6 points). Negative contributions came from the sectors of other goods (-1.7 points), non-chemical semi-manufactures (-0.5 points), energy products (-0.4 points) and commodities (-0.3 points).
By subsector, the main positive contributions were from motor vehicles and motorcycles (1.8 points, mainly due to stronger sales to Germany, Italy, Belgium and the United Kingdom); road haulage equipment (0.7 points, to the United Kingdom, Italy and the Netherlands); automotive components (0.5 points, to Romania and France); and clothing (0.5 points, to Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom and China).
In contrast, those subsectors that most dragged down exports were: iron and steel (-0.7 points, mainly due to fewer exports to Algeria, Italy, the United States and Germany); aircraft (-0.4 points, to Australia, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Malaysia); minerals (-0.3 points, especially to Bulgaria); and medicines (-0.3 points, especially to Italy, the United States and Hungary).
With regard to imports, the consolidation of the recovery of the Spanish economy is reflected in the growth in most of the sectors. Hence, imports from the capital goods sector (21.2% of the total) grew by 8.8% year-on-year, from the automotive sector (14.9% of the total) grew by 7.1% and the purchase of consumer manufactures and consumer durables grew by 8.5% and 6.6%, respectively.
The main positive contributions to imports in the period January-April 2016 came from the sectors of capital goods (contribution of 1.7 points), consumer manufactures (1 point), and the automotive sector (1 point). The only negative contributions by sector in this period came from energy products (-4.7 points), commodities (-0.5 points) and non-chemical semi-manufactures (-0.3 points).
By subsectors, the main positive contributions were from motor vehicles and motorcycles (1.2 points, mainly due to higher imports from Germany and, to a lesser extent, Italy, the United Kingdom and France); clothing (0.6 points, mainly from Morocco, Turkey and Bangladesh); fruit, vegetables and legumes (0.3 points, from the United States, France and Morocco); and general use machinery (0.3 points, from the Czech Republic, France, Germany and Italy).
Conversely, the highest negative contributions to imports were from the subsectors of oil and oil derivatives (-3.8 points, due mainly to weaker purchases from Angola and, to a lesser extent, Nigeria, Mexico and Algeria); gas (-0.6 points, basically due to weaker purchases from Algeria and, by a considerable distance, Qatar and Norway); and minerals (-0.6 points, especially from the United States, as well as the United Kingdom, France and Germany).
Exports to the European Union (67.3% of the total) grew by 5.4% in January-April 2016 compared with the same period of the previous year. Exports to the Eurozone (52.4% of the total) increased by 5% and those to the rest of the European Union (14.9% of the total) grew by 6.9%. In contrast, the unfavourable economic climate in emerging countries explains why exports to non-EU destinations (32.7% of the total) fell in this period by 5% year-on-year, with downturns in exports to North America (-1.1%), Latin America (-13.5%), Asia excluding the Middle East (-3.6%), Africa (-2.6%) and Oceania (-36%), while exports grew to the Middle East (+4.6%). In spite of the overall decline in exports to non-EU markets, particular note should be made of the increased sales to such high potential markets as Chile (up 14.5%), China (up 10.4%) and Morocco (up 17.8%).
Hence, the countries with the greatest positive contribution to the year-on-year export trend in Spanish exports in January-April 2016 were Germany (0.8 points, due to stronger sales of motor vehicles and motorcycles and, to a lesser extent, fruits, vegetables and legumes), the United Kingdom (0.7 points, due to the growth of exports of aircraft, motor vehicles and motorcycles and road haulage equipment), Belgium (0.7 points, mainly due to the increase in exports of motor vehicles and motorcycles and, to a lesser extent, oil and oil derivatives) and Italy (0.5 points, due to increased exports of motor vehicles and motorcycles and, at a considerable distance, road haulage equipment).
In contrast, the greatest negative contributions corresponded to Brazil (-0.3 points, due to fewer sales of oil and oil derivatives, motor vehicles and motorcycles and electrical appliances), Australia (-0.3 points, mainly due to falling aircraft exports), Saudi Arabia (-0.3 points, mainly due to a fall in the export of aircraft and oil and oil derivatives) and Malaysia (-0.3 points, mainly due to fewer exports of aircraft and gas).
By autonomous region, the strongest year-on-year growth in terms of exports in January-April 2016 were posted by Castile-Leon (22.7% year-on-year), Castile-La Mancha (11.8%) and the Region of Valencia (9.3%). Conversely, the greatest year-on-year decreases were posted by the Balearic Islands (down 25.8% year-on-year), the Canary Islands (down 25.7%) and Extremadura (down 10.2%).
In terms of contributions to the year-on-year rate of change in total exports, the largest positive contributions were from Castile-Leon (1.2 percentage points), whose exports accounted for 6.6% of the total and grew by 22.7% year-on-year; and the Region of Valencia (1.1 percentage points), whose sales accounted for 12.3% of the total and grew by 9.3% year-on-year. The regions with the greatest negative contributions were the Region of Madrid with -0.6 points (10.8% of all exports, down by 5.5% year-on-year), and Andalusia with -0.5 points (10.2% of the total, down by 4.7%).
Exports from Catalonia (25.4% of the total) grew by 1.3%, while those from the Basque Country (8.4% of the total) increased by 4.8% and those from Galicia (7.6% of the total) by 7.5%.
In the month of April, Spanish exports of goods grew by 6.3% in year-on-year terms to 22.24 billion euros, the highest figure since records began for this month. In terms of volume, the increase was higher still, at 7.7% year-on-year, due to prices as estimated by the Unit Value Indices (UVIs) falling by 1.3%. Nonetheless, in seasonally-adjusted terms, this figure fell by 0.5%, mainly due to the fact that the Easter holidays fell in April in 2015 whereas they fell in March this year.
Imports in April 2016 decreased by 1.2% in year-on-year terms to a total of 22.88 billion euros. In contrast, in terms of volume, imports rose by 4.6% given that import prices fell by 5.6%. As a result, the trade balance posted a deficit of 637.3 million euros in April 2016, 71.7% down on the same month in 2015 (deficit of 2.25 billion euros), and the lowest April figure since records began. The coverage rate stood at 97.2%, 6.9 points higher than in April 2015 (90.3%, provisional data). The non-energy balance posted a surplus of 797.6 million euros (surplus of 128.8 million euros in April of 2015, provisional figures), and the energy deficit shrank by 39.8%.
The growth in Spanish exports (+6.3%) compares with the downturns posted by the Eurozone (-0.2%) and the European Union (-0.8%). Exports also fell in France (down 3.9% year-on-year), Italy (down 1%) and the United Kingdom (down 5%), while they increased in Germany by 3.8% year-on-year. Beyond the EU, exports also fell in the United States (-7.4% year-on-year), China (-2%) and Japan (-10.1%).
In the month of April, the contributions to export growth came from the following sectors: automotive (a contribution of 4.9 points), capital goods (3 points), consumer manufactures (1.4 points) and food, beverage and tobacco (1.1 points). Conversely, the main sectors which contributed negatively were other goods (a contribution of -2.1 points), with a fall of 55.1%; and energy products (-1.2 points), which shrank by 21.9%.
By subsectors, the main positive contributions were from motor vehicles and motorcycles (4.1 points, mainly due to stronger sales to Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom); road haulage equipment (1 point, to Italy, the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands); automotive components (0.9 points, especially to Romania and, to a lesser extent, France and Germany); and clothing (0.9 points, mainly to Italy and France). Conversely, the subsectors that most dragged down exports were those of oil and oil derivatives (-0.9 points, mainly due to lower sales to the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, the United States and Greece); minerals (-0.6 points, almost entirely due to lower sales to Bulgaria and, a very significant distance, China); medicines (-0.5 points, to Hungary and, to a lesser extent, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan); and iron and steel (-0.3 points, mostly due to fewer exports to Algeria and, at a considerable distance, the United Kingdom).
In April 2016, exports to the European Union accounted for 66.2% of the total, higher than the figure of 64.1% posted in April of the previous year. This gain in share was due to the Eurozone (51.8% compared with 49.5% in April 2015), as the rest of the European Union accounted for a slightly lower proportion (14.5% in April 2016 compared with 14.6% in the same month of the previous year).
Exports to the European Union grew by 9.9% year-on-year, those to the Eurozone by 11.2% and those to the rest of the European Union to a lesser extent, by 5.5%. Among our main partners, there were notable increases of sales to Germany (up 15.8%), Italy (up 12.7%), France (up 10.2%) and the United Kingdom (up 4.9%).
Exports to countries not belonging to the European Union accounted for 33.8% of the total (35.9% in April 2015) and remained stable when compared with April 2015 (flat). By region, exports grew to North America (up 1.2%), Asia excluding the Middle East (up 5.8%), the Middle East (up 11%), Africa (up 3.1%) and Oceania (up 21.5%). The exception was Latin America (down 14.3%), due to fewer exports to Mexico (-20.6%), Argentina (-35.4%) and Brazil (-34.3%). By individual country, export increases were posted to Chile (up 15.3%), China (up 15%), Morocco (up 23.7%), Australia (up 34.3%) and Canada (up 18.9%), while exports decreased to the aforementioned countries of Latin America and Japan (down 6.4%).
The countries with the greatest positive contribution to the year-on-year export trend in Spanish exports in April 2016 (+6.3%) were Germany (1.6 points, mainly due to increased exports of motor vehicles and motorcycles and, to a lesser extent, automotive components), France (1.5 points, mainly due to the growth of exports of motor vehicles and motorcycles and, at a distance, automotive components and other chemical products), Italy (1 point, due to the increase in exports of motor vehicles and motorcycles and, at a distance, road haulage equipment and clothing) and Belgium (0.9 points, especially due to increased exports of motor vehicles and motorcycles, followed by oil and oil derivatives).
In contrast, the greatest negative contributions corresponded to Brazil (-0.4 points, due to fewer sales of oil and oil derivatives, motor vehicles and motorcycles and organic chemical products), Mexico (-0.4 points, mainly due to fewer exports of electrical appliances, aircraft and medicines), Bulgaria (-0.4 points, almost entirely due to fewer exports of minerals) and Gibraltar (-0.3 points, due to fewer exports of oil and oil derivatives).
Spain’s trade surplus with the European Union stood at 1.2 billion euros in April 2016 (a surplus of 607.5 million euros in April 2015, provisional data). The trade balance with the Eurozone posted a surplus of 662.5 million euros (surplus of 73.9 million euros in the same month of the previous year). In turn, the trade deficit with non-EU countries fell by 35.7% on the figure for April 2015 to 1.84 billion euros (a deficit of 2.86 billion euros in April 2015, provisional data).