TRADE: EU POSTS EURO 2.9 BILLION DEFICIT IN JANUARY.

Imports in February rose 1% from Euro 78.5 billion last year to Euro 79.4 billion, while exports fell 1% from Euro 77.0 billion to Euro 76.4 billion. Within the EU, trade dispatches were Euro 129.7 billion in February, a shade higher than the Euro 129.4 billion in February 2002.

Final figures for January.

Eurostat also adjusted its provisional January trade figures. The balance was definitively set at a Euro 8.7 billion deficit, exports reached Euro 75.8 billion, while imports reached Euro 84.4 billion. Within the EU, trade dispatches were Euro 126.8 billion in January.

Eurostat said that the January energy deficit rose to Euro 11.2 billion compared to Euro 9.5 billion in January 2002. The most notable export changes were with China (up...