The euro zone's unadjusted trade surplus rose in September despite the single currency's steady climb as annual export growth still outpaced imports despite a sharp slowdown from August, data showed today.
But profit forecasts and the results of some European companies showed the euro's record strength was starting to bite.
The European Union's statistics office said the trade surplus of the 13 countries using the euro rose to €3.1 billion ($4.5 billion) from €2.3 billion a year earlier and an upwardly revised €1.9 billion in August.
It said exports grew by 4 per cent year-on-year, slowing from an 11 per cent expansion in August. That was above the 3 per cent growth in imports, which slowed from 4 per cent in August.
The euro rose 2.3 per cent on a trade-weighted basis in September and was 4.6 per cent stronger than 12 months earlier.
Against the US dollar, the euro zone's second-biggest trade currency after the British pound, the euro gained 4.7 per cent in September.