Terms of trade deteriorated

The Dutch terms of trade of imported and exported goods deteriorated in December 2010 compared with December 2009. Prices of imported goods were 10.5 percent higher, prices of exported goods rose by 9.3 percent.

Price developments of oil and natural gas had a negative effect on the terms of trade. The Netherlands imports much more crude oil than it exports and exports much more natural gas than it imports. Prices for crude oil were much higher than one year previously. Natural gas prices also rose, but to a lesser extent.

Besides higher prices for crude oil, higher prices for natural gas, petroleum derivatives, basic metals, chemical products and food products also contributed to the increase in import prices. Export prices of these products were also much higher than one year previously.

More information on the terms of trade can be found in the article Changes in the terms of trade in goods.  More information on the relationship between oil prices and the terms of trade can be found in the article “Crude oil prices strongly affect terms of trade”.

Terms of trade

Terms of trade

More figures can be found on the theme page International trade.