Irish imports rose sharply in November, reaching a new high of £2.426 billion, 7 per cent above the previous month's high. But exports were little changed on a seasonally-adjusted basis, totalling £3.066 billion in November or a 1.6 per cent increase on October, according to trade figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday.

This gave rise to an adjusted trade surplus of £641 million in November, the lowest in six months. Initial indications for December show an asjusted surplus of £810 million with exports totalling £3.1 billion and imports of £2.29 billion, the CSO said.