TRADE: EU DEFICIT DROPS TO EURO 3.2 BILLION IN SEPTEMBER.

Within the EU, trade dispatches rose 5% Euro 113.6 billion in September, compared with Euro 108.7 billion the year before. Eurostat has also revised the August deficit downwards to Euro 2.5 billion from a provisional figure which had earlier put it at Euro 1.5 billion. It was Euro 3.5 billion lower than the Euro 1 billion surplus in August last year. EU August exports rose 7% from Euro 52.9 billion to Euro 56.7 billion, while imports rose 14% from Euro 52.0 billion to Euro 59.2 billion. Within the EU, trade dispatches reached Euro 90.1 billion in August, compared with Euro 81.4 billion the year before. Eurostat said exports were "weak across all the main product groupings except chemicals, while for imports the fall in raw materials was outweighed by growth in machinery...