Foreign trade and payments.

The article deals with international trade and payments of Finland. The foreign-trade data for the second quarter of 2006 reflect the impact of strike in the pulp and paper sector in 2005, as exports jumped sharply compared with a year earlier. However, the data for the current-account balance in the first eight months of 2006 confirm that there was a significant increase in the trade surplus, but relatively modest changes in the other main components.