Serbia's trade drops 12 pct in USD and grows 7.1 pct in EUR

BELGRADE - Serbia's foreign trade in the January-March 2015 period amounted to USD 7.48 billion, down 11.9 percent against a year earlier, while expressed in the Eurozone currency, it was EUR 6.64 billion, an increase of 7.1 percent, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (RZS) said in a release Thursday.

The fall in foreign trade expressed in dollars has been caused by the United States' currency strengthening relative to the Serbian dinar and also euro, said the RZS.

In the first quarter of this year, Serbia exported goods worth USD 3.12 billion, a decrease of 13.5 percent compared to the same period last year, and imported goods worth USD 4.35 billion, a drop of 10.8 percent against 2014.

Expressed in euros, exports amounted to EUR 2.77 billion, up 5.2 percent against the first quarter of the year before, while imports totaled EUR 3.86 billion, an increase of 8.5 percent.

The deficit was USD 1.23 billion, a decrease of 3.0 percent compared to the first quarter of 2014. In euros, it amounted to EUR 1.09 billion, an 18.0 percent increase.

Photo TANJUG/Z. Zestic, ilustration