Exports rose 8.7 percent year-on-year to € 21.58 billion while imports grew 13.4 percent to € 23.41 billion.
Sales to Germany increased 8.5 percent, the highest gain since October of 2012, while sales to France dropped 0.9 percent and those to the United Kingdom went down for the seventh consecutive month by 18.2 percent. Meanwhile, sales to Japan increased 3.9 percent and those to the United States rose 4.7 percent.
Exports from the automotive sector, accounting for 15.1 percent of total sales rose 14.9 percent and exports of manufacturing products increased 18.1 percent.
Considering the first seven months of 2014, exports rose 1.6 percent over a year earlier and imports rose at a faster 6.5 percent, bringing the trade gap to € 13.7 billion (€ -6.6 billion in the same period of 2013).