Between May and June, the rapid growth of Irish exports paused, yet remained significantly higher than the same period last year. Official figures released on August 14 show that the numbers have begun to rebound. The decline of the euro and the economic boost in the United Kingdom and the United States may help to stimulate exports.
Private organizations stated: "After seasonal adjustments, the monthly change in merchandise exports in June was minimal, rising significantly from 7.93 billion in June 2014 to 9.09 billion pounds."
A broad category of miscellaneous manufactured articles, including optical and scientific instruments, was the second-largest group, accounting for 6.92 billion pounds of exports in the first half of the year.
This was followed by exports of machinery and transport equipment, valued at 6.56 billion pounds. Exports of food and live animals totaled 4.73 billion pounds in the first half of the year. Economic surveys suggest that driven by new export orders, the Purchasing Managers' Index and the manufacturing sector are likely to continue to grow.