MADRID: Spanish exports were on course for a record high in 2014 as exports rose despite a slowing euro zone economy, but the trade deficit more than doubled from a year ago in the January-November period, official data showed on Friday.
Faltering economic growth in the likes of Germany and Italy had raised concerns for Spain, which has depended on exports to fuel its recovery since mid-2013 from a deep recession.
Exports of goods including food and cars continued to rise, the ministry said, albeit at a slower pace as economic growth faltered in the euro zone, the destination of almost half of Spain's exports.
Spanish exports were up 2.2 percent to November compared with the same period in 2013, the economy ministry said, reaching nearly 221 billion euros ($256.5 billion).
A weakening euro against the dollar in recent months also spurred sales to some countries outside the single currency area. In November alone, exports of goods to the United States rose by more than half from a year earlier.
On an 11-month basis, however, exports to some emerging markets, such as Latin America, slipped, coinciding with slowing growth in countries such as Brazil.
A stronger Spanish import sector in the same period, up 5.8 percent year on year as consumer demand picks up, pushed up the country's trade deficit.
To the end of November, the trade gap stood at 22.7 billion euros, up 60 percent from a year earlier. Cars, capital goods, such as factory machinery, and large household items, such as furniture, were among the main elements behind the import rise.
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