Eurostat: EU-Russia commerce surges, despite economic sanctions on Moscow

Eurostat out with the latest Eurozone trade data on Friday, showing that the 28-country bloc expanded its trade with Russia.

Reuters notes, “The highest increases were recorded with Russia, which overtook Switzerland as the third main source of imports for the EU. Despite western economic sanctions imposed after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, EU exports to Russia grew 24.6 percent between January and May, driven by manufactured goods and machinery, while imports, composed principally of oil and gas, surged by 37.6 percent.”

European Monetary Union Trade Balance s.a. below forecasts (€20.3B) in May: Actual (€19.7B)