Imports, almost $12 billion, increased by one percent. Exports declined slightly.

Export figures, however, are skewed by including scrap and other non-manufactured goods. Imports are also biased by the 20 percent petroleum share of all imports. Oil prices were half of what they used to be a year earlier. Imports of capital goods surged by 13 percent.

The exchange rate of the euro against the dollar was 11 percent lower than it was in the first nine months of 2008. The euro zone accounts for around 30 percent of total imports. The trade deficit reached $9.5 billion during the first nine months of 2009.