The 19 member states of the eurozone posted a merchandise trade surplus in June with the rest of the world that was larger than that for June 2019 despite the COVID-19 pandemic throttling economic growth.

The bloc recorded a $25 billion (€21.2 billion) trade surplus compared to $23 billion (€19.4 billion) year-on-year, according to Eurostat (the European Statistical Office) based in Luxembourg. The June 2020 trade surplus was also more than twice the May total of $11.1 billion (€9.4 billion).

Eurostat said the eurozone's merchandise exports to the rest of the world this June stood at $201 billion (€170.3 billion), a decrease of 10% compared with the $224 billion (€189.3 billion) posted in June 2019.

Imports from the rest of the world came to $176 billion (€149.1 billion), a reduction of 12.2% year-on-year compared to $201 billion (€169.9 billion).

Eurostat said the year-on-year improvement in June was caused by a 12.2% decline in imports, which more than offset the 10% fall in exports due to the global slowdown in the trade caused by the raging pandemic.

It also pointed out the eurozone's COVID-19 containment measures continue to have a noticeable impact on international trade in goods. There are, however, signs of improvement compared to May.

On the other hand, intraeuro area trade fell to $178 billion (€150.6 billion) in June 2020, down 7.3% year-on-year.

The European Union with its 27 member states posted a $24.5 billion (€20.7 billion) merchandise trade surplus in June, also the result of a larger drop in imports than exports.

EU trade with its three largest trading partners, the United States, China and the United Kingdom, fell to varying degrees. Hardest hit was trade with the UK.

The eurozone's gross domestic product (GDP) plummeted by 12.1% in the second quarter compared to Q1 due to the pandemic-induced economic slowdown.

In Q2, the eurozone was also hit by its worst drop in employment ever recorded. The jobless rate stood at a historically high 7.8 % in June from an upwardly revised 7.7% in May. It was the highest jobless rate since February 2019.

In June, the number of unemployed persons in the eurozone rose by 203,000 to 12.69 million as several countries continue to labor under COVID-19 containment measures. The highest jobless rates were in Spain (15.6%), Italy (8.8%), and France (7.7%). Germany had the lowest unemployment rate at 5.8%.

The youth unemployment rate measuring job seekers ages 15 to 24, jumped to 17% from 16.5% in May. The jobless rate for the entire EU was 7.1% in June, up from 7% in May.