BRUSSELS, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Eurozone trade surplus with the rest of the world stood at 3.7 billion euros (5.5 billion U.S. dollars) in September after a deficit of 2.3 billion euros (3.4 billion dollars) in August, European Union (EU) statistics agency Eurostat said on Tuesday.

    Imports dropped by 24 percent year-on-year to 108.1 billion euros (160.5 billion dollars), while exports fell by 18 percent to111.8 billion euros (166 billion dollars).

    After a record 12.3-billion-euro (18.4 billion dollars) surplus in July on strong exports and flat imports, the 16 countries that use the single euro currency recorded a deficit in August, which had put an end to a run of trade surpluses that lasted for five consecutive months.

    The trade surplus for the period between January and September, was 10.7 billion euros (15.9 billion dollars), compared with a deficit of 45 billion euros (66.9 billion dollars) during the same period last year.