An increase in trade between the Republic and non-EU countries in July signalled that there was "some improvement" in the economy on the way, one commentator said yesterday.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday released figures showing that trade with countries outside the EU had improved marginally between January and June.

The seasonally adjusted figures for the month showed that exports to destinations outside the EU came to €2.47 billion, up 4 per cent on the June return of €2.36 billion, while imports increased to €1.5 billion from €1.46 billion.