Ireland’s trade surplus widened in September as exports continued to climb, new figures indicate.

The data from the Central Statistics Office showed seasonally adjusted exports rising by 2 per cent to €7.9 billion for the month, with imports declining to €3.8 billion, a 5 per cent fall. This led to an 11 per cent rise in the trade surplus for the month.

On an unadjusted basis, the value of exports in September rose by 3 per cent compared to a year earlier, while imports fell by 3 per cent.

In the first eight months of the year, exports rose 4 per cent to €61.2 billion compared to a year earlier.