The eurozone reported a trade deficit in September compared to a surplus a year earlier.
Initial estimates from the EU's statistics office show the trade deficit with the rest of the world was 5.6 billion euros ($US7.1 billion) for the month, compared with a surplus of 2.9 billion euros in September last year.
The trade gap narrowed from August, when the deficit stood at 9.4 billion euros.
The year-on-year deterioration was caused by a sharp rise in imports.
The deficit for the nine months to the end of September was 29.6 billion euros. At the same time last year, the eurozone trade balance showed a surplus of 13.2 billion euros.
With exports unable to keep pace with imports, the trade gap could widen further.
