DUBLIN: Ireland's trade surplus widened by 15 percent in August from July to 3.699 billion euros ($5.087 billion) as the eurozone nation's exports rose faster than imports, official data showed on Friday.
Exports increased by 10 percent to 7.767 billion euros in August from 7.045 billion euros in July and imports climbed by 6.0 percent to 4.068 billion euros from 3.821 billion euros, the Central Statistics Office said in a statement.
The data comes a day after the International Monetary Fund welcomed Ireland's strong implementation of financial reforms in exchange for an international bailout of worth 85 billion euros.
Ireland's Jobs and Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton said a strong export performance was key to the country's economic recovery.
"If we are to see the recovery we are all working so hard to achieve, a strong export performance will be crucial. Today's figures, which indicate that the strong performance in exports over recent months is continuing, show that an export-led recovery is a real possibility," he said in a statement.
"They are particularly welcome after a period of mixed news about the global economy into which we export. However any signs of recovery are fragile, and we have a long way to go."
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