Swedish exports surge as trade surplus doubles

Swedish exports surged in June as the country ran up a substantial trade surplus, preliminary figures showed Friday.

Sweden exported goods worth 108.9 billion SEK (12.6 billion U.S. dollars) in June, a 14-percent increase on the same period in 2014, government agency Statistics Sweden said in a press release.

Its trade surplus was 8.4 billion SEK (975 million U.S. dollars), double that of the same period in 2014, as Sweden imported goods worth 100.5 billion SEK (11.7 billion U.S. dollars).

Since June last year, exports had increased in value by 14 percent, while imports had dropped 10 percent.

Trade with non-EU countries far added 15.3 billion SEK (1.78 billion U.S. dollars) to the surplus, while Sweden's trade with EU countries produced a deficit of SEK 6.9 billion (901 million U.S. dollars).

Sweden kept a trade surplus throughout the financial crisis but briefly netted a trade deficit in the middle of 2014. (1 U.S. dollar = 8.61 SEK)