November 9 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's trade surplus contracted to 707.4 million euro ($820.6 million) in the first nine months of 2017 from 816.8 million euro in the same period last year, as imports grew faster than exports, the country's statistical office said on Thursday.
Exports rose 12.7% on the year to 20.9 billion euro in January-September, while imports increased 13.9% to 20.2 billion euro, the statistical office, SURS, said in a statement.
The export-import ratio during the period was 103.5%.
The European Union was Slovenia’s main trading partner in the first nine months of 2017, absorbing 16.1 billion euro of the country's exports and providing 16.2 billion euro of its imports.
In September alone, Slovenia saw its biggest trade surplus this year, of 258.7 million euro, as exports rose 14.1% on the year to 2.6 billion euro, while imports expanded 10.7% to 2.4 billion euro.
($=0.862083 euro)