Spain's trade deficit reaches €16.481bn as of August

Spain's trade deficit reached 16.481 billion euros (21.073 billion U.S. dollars) during the January-August period this year, up from the 8.420 billion euros of the same period in 2013, official figures showed Wednesday.
Both imports and exports increased in the first eight months of the year, according to data unveiled by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
Exports increased by 0.9 percent year-on-year to a total of 157.192 billion euros, the figures showed.
Exports shipped to the eurozone countries increased by 3.9 percent, while those to the European Union (EU) members increased by 3.6 percent, the ministry said.
However, exports shipped to non-EU countries fell by 3.5 percent.
Meanwhile, imports increased by 5.8 percent in the first eight months of the year when compared with the same period in 2013 to a total of 173.673 billion euros. The ministry said the increase was due to a better performance of domestic consumption and industrial production. (1 euro = 1.28 U.S. dollars)