A trade surplus means the value of what a country sells abroad exceeds the value of what it buys from abroad in the period measured. The opposite is a trade deficit. The figure is one slice of the wider balance of payments, not the whole economic story.
Key takeaways
- A surplus is not automatically good and a deficit is not automatically bad. Context and financing matter.
- Exchange rates, commodity prices, and domestic demand all influence whether trade balances swing toward surplus or deficit.
- Persistent imbalances can put pressure on currencies and foreign reserves over time.
- Services such as tourism and transport count in many trade measures alongside physical goods.