News

France Posts Lowest Trade Gap Since 2021
France’s trade deficit narrowed to €5.2 billion in February 2024 from a downwardly revised €7.2 billion in the previous month and came less than market expectations of €7.0 billion. It was the lowest trade deficit since January 2021, as exports rose 4.7% month-over-month to a seven-month high of €51.1 billion, while imports increased at a softer 0.5% to €56.3 billion. At the same time, the energy shortfall decreased to €3.8 billion from €4.5 billion in the prior period. Excluding energy, the trade deficit declined to €2.8 billion compared to €4.0 billion in January. In the manufacturing sector, the trade surplus for consumer goods rose by €0.1 billion, reaching €0.8 billion. Meanwhile, the shortfall for investment goods went up by €0.3 billion, standing at €3.2 billion, while it dropped for intermediate goods to €0.9 billion from €1.8 billion previously.
Published on 2024-04-09

France Trade Deficit Widens in January
France's trade deficit widened to €7.4 billion in January 2024 from €6.4 billion in the previous month and coming more than market expectations of €6.5 billion. Exports dropped 3.1% month-over-month to an over one-and-a-half year low of €48.8 billion, while imports fell at a softer 1.1% to €56.2 billion. The energy shortfall rose to €4.6 billion from €4.2 billion in the prior period. Excluding energy, the trade deficit edged down to €4.1 billion compared to €4.2 billion in December. In the manufacturing sector, the trade balance for consumer goods rose by €0.2 billion, reaching €0.7 billion, and that of investment goods decreased by €0.1 billion, standing at €-2.8 billion. The trade balance for intermediate goods grew €.01 billion to €-1.9 billion.
Published on 2024-03-08

France Trade Gap Rises in December
France trade deficit widened to €6.83 billion in December 2023 from a €5.9 billion gap in November, which was the lowest since April 2021. Figures compare with forecasts of a €6 billion shortfall, with exports increasing 1% to €50.2 billion while imports rose at a faster 2.5% to €57 billion. Sales rose to the EU (4.9%) and Asia (3.6%) and imports increased above 2% from both the EU and Asia. The balance on investment goods switched to a deficit (€-2.3 billion vs €0.1 billion) while the gap on intermediate goods was little changed at €1.9 billion. The energy shortfall narrowed to €4.4 billion from €5.1 billion amid lower costs for energy imports. Also, the balance for consumption goods switched to a surplus for the first time in 3 years. Considering full 2023, the trade deficit narrowed to €99.6 billion from €162.7 billion, mainly due to an improvement on the balance for both energy and manufactures products. Exports rose 1.5% to €607.3 billion while imports fell 7.1% to €706.9 billion.
Published on 2024-02-07

France Trade Deficit Narrows in November
France's trade deficit shrank to €5.9 billion in November 2023, following a downwardly revised €8.5 billion in the previous month, and below market forecasts of €7.9 billion. Imports fell by 4.8% month-over-month to a two-year low of €55.4 billion, while exports slumped by 0.4% to €49.5 billion. The energy gap remained steady at €5 billion, unchanged from the previous month. Excluding energy, the trade deficit decreased to €2.8 billion from €5.4 billion. In the manufacturing sector, the trade balance for consumer goods improved by €0.1 billion, reaching €-0.2 billion and that of investment goods increased by €0.2 billion, standing at €-2.3 billion. The trade balance for intermediate goods remained stable, holding at €-1.8 billion.
Published on 2024-01-09

France Trade Deficit Narrows in October
France's trade deficit narrowed to €8.6 billion in October of 2023, following a downwardly revised €8.87 billion in the previous month, and slightly above market forecasts of €8.5 billion. Imports rose by 0.6 percent month-over-month to €58.3 billion and exports surged by 1.2 percent to €49.7 billion. The energy gap shrank to €5 billion from €5.4 billion in September. Excluding energy, the trade deficit increased to €5.6 billion from € 5.4 billion. In the manufacturing sector, the trade balance for consumer goods improved by €0.1 billion, reaching €-0.6 billion, while that of intermediate goods deteriorated by €-0.1 billion, standing at €-2.0 billion. The trade balance for investment goods remained stable, holding at €-3 billion.
Published on 2023-12-07

French Trade Deficit Exceeds Expectations
France's trade deficit widened to €8.9 billion in September 2023, the highest level since April, following an upwardly revised €8.3 billion in the previous month, and surpassing market forecasts of €8.1 billion. Imports fell by 1.4 percent month-over-month to a 19-month low of €58 billion, while exports slumped by 2.8 percent to €49.1 billion. Considering the third quarter of 2023, trade gap narrowed slightly to €25.3 billion from €25.5 billion in the previous quarter, amid a 1.4 percent drop in imports, mainly due to the decline in imports of manufactured products, particularly textiles-clothing, leather & shoes and chemical products. Meanwhile, exports went down by 1.4 percent for the quarter, primarily driven by the sharp decrease in exports of transport equipment, following robust sales in the 2nd quarter of aeronautical & space construction products and ships & boats.
Published on 2023-11-08

French Trade Deficit Below Forecasts
France's trade deficit widened slightly to €8.2 billion in August of 2023, following an upwardly revised €8.1 billion in the previous month, and below market forecasts of €8.9 billion. Imports fell by 2.8 percent month-over-month to €59 billion and exports decreased by 3.4 percent to four-month low of €50.8 billion. The energy gap shrank to €5.5 billion from €7.3 billion in July. Excluding energy, the trade deficit rose to €4.7 billion from € 2.9 billion. In the manufacturing industry, the trade balance for capital goods deteriorates again (€-0.2 billion vs € -0.4 billion in July), while the balance of intermediate goods shows a reduction (€0.1 billion vs €0.4 billion) and consumer goods remained stable over the last two months (€0.1 billion).
Published on 2023-10-06

French Trade Deficit Above Forecasts
France's trade deficit widened to EUR 8.1 billion in July of 2023, following an upwardly revised EUR 6.8 billion in the previous month, and above market forecasts of EUR 6.8 billion. Imports rose by 3.1 percent month-over-month to 6-month high of EUR 60.7 billion and exports increased by 1 percent to EUR 52.6 billion. The energy gap climbed to EUR 7.3 billion from EUR 4.7 billion in June. Excluding energy, the trade deficit narrowed to EUR 2.9 billion from EUR 4.1 billion. In the manufacturing industry, the trade balance for capital goods fell slightly by EUR 0.1 billion, while the balance of consumer goods improved EUR 0.1 billion, as did that of intermediate goods, which rose by EUR 0.4 billion.
Published on 2023-09-07

French Trade Deficit Smaller Than Expected
France's trade deficit narrowed to EUR 6.7 billion in June of 2023, the lowest level since August 2021, following a downwardly revised EUR 7.9 billion in the previous month, and below market forecasts of EUR 8 billion. Imports fell 3.2 percent month-over-month to 16-month low of EUR 58.8 billion, while exports slumped 1.3 percent to EUR 52.1 billion. Considering the second quarter of 2023, trade gap shrank to EUR 24.6 billion from EUR 29.8 billion in the previous quarter, amid a 0.9 percent drop in imports, primarily influenced by lower energy prices. In contrast, exports surged by 2.3 percent for the quarter, mainly driven by the increase in shipments of transport equipment, specifically products from the aeronautics and space industry.
Published on 2023-08-08

French Trade Deficit Below Forecasts
France's trade deficit narrowed to EUR 8.4 billion in May of 2023, following an upwardly revised EUR 10.6 billion deficit in April and below market forecasts of EUR 9 billion shortfall. Exports rose by 4.6 percent month-over-month to a nine-month high of EUR 52.3 billion, while imports fell by 0.5 percent to EUR 60.8 billion. The energy gap shrank to EUR 5.4 billion from EUR 7.1 billion in April due to stable energy imports, which were influenced by an increasing volume and a price effect, while energy exports experienced a slight decline of EUR 0.1 billion. Excluding energy, the trade deficit narrowed slightly to EUR 5.1 billion from EUR 5.5 billion. In relation to the manufacturing industry, there was a marginal improvement of 0.1 billion in the balance of trade for capital goods, while the balances for consumer goods declined by 0.2 billion. Additionally, the balance of intermediate goods remained stable throughout May.
Published on 2023-07-07

French Trade Deficit Above Forecasts
France's trade deficit widened to EUR 9.7 billion in April 2023, following an upwardly revised EUR 8.4 billion deficit in March and above market forecasts of EUR 7.7 billion shortfall. Imports rose by 1.4 percent month-over-month to EUR 59.5 billion. Meanwhile, exports fell by 0.1 percent to EUR 49.8 billion, led by a decrease in energy purchases and a more moderate growth in non-energy purchases. The energy gap surged to EUR 6.8 billion from EUR 5.4 billion in March. Excluding energy, the trade deficit narrowed slightly to EUR 4.9 billion from EUR 5 billion. Regarding the manufacturing industry, the balance of trade in consumer goods went down fractionally (-0.1 billion), whereas the balances of capital goods and intermediate goods increased by 0.1 billion each.
Published on 2023-06-07

French Trade Deficit Smaller Than Expected
France's trade deficit narrowed to EUR 8 billion in March of 2023, the lowest since September 2021, following a downwardly revised EUR 9.3 billion in the previous month, and below market forecasts of EUR 9.3 billion. Imports fell 3.1 percent month-over-month to a nearly one year low of EUR 50.5 billion, while exports slumped 1.2 percent to EUR 58.5 billion. Considering the first quarter of 2023, trade gap shrank to EUR 29.7 billion from EUR 41.7 billion in the previous quarter, amid a 7.4 percent drop in imports, dragged down by lower energy prices while purchases of manufactured products also fell. Meanwhile, exports declined 1.6 percent on the quarter, mainly due to a drop in both the price and volume of wheat exported. Sales were also lower for metallurgical and metal products, wood, paper, cardboard.
Published on 2023-05-09

France Trade Deficit at Over 1-Year Low
France's trade deficit narrowed to EUR 9.9 billion in February of 2023, the lowest in nearly a year, following a downwardly revised EUR 12.5 billion in the previous month. Imports fell 1.9 percent month-over-month to a ten-month low of EUR 60.9 billion, as falling prices led to a decline in energy imports although volumes purchased also dropped. Meanwhile, exports rose 2.6 percent to EUR 50.9 billion. The energy gap narrowed to EUR 6.9 billion from EUR 7.9 billion in January. Excluding energy, the trade deficit declined to EUR 5.1 billion from EUR 6.8 billion. As regards manufacturing industry, the balance of trade in intermediate goods and that of capital goods each improved by 0.2 billion and that of consumer goods by 0.1 billion.
Published on 2023-04-07

France Trade Deficit Narrows in January
France's trade deficit narrowed to EUR 12.9 billion in January of 2023 from EUR 14.9 billion in the previous month. Imports fell by 4.5 percent to EUR 62.4 billion, driven by the drop in supplies of energy and non-energy products. Meanwhile, exports slumped by 2.2 percent month-over-month to EUR 49.4 billion, mainly due to the decline in exports of goods excluding energy. The energy gap narrowed to EUR 8.2 billion from EUR 9.8 billion in December. Excluding energy, the trade deficit went down to EUR 6.9 billion from EUR 7.2 billion.
Published on 2023-03-10

France Trade Deficit Widens in December
France's trade deficit widened to EUR 14.93 billion in December of 2022 from EUR 13.8 billion in the previous month, above market estimates of a €12.2 billion shortfall. Imports rose by 1.7% to EUR 65.9 billion, while exports went down 0.1% month-over-month to EUR 51 billion. Considering the full year of 2022, the trade balance fell by €86 billion to reach its new historic low at -€164 billion, mainly due to fall in the balance of energy products and slightly drop in manufactured products as was the case in 2021. Imports increased significantly by 29.4% (vs 19.5% in 2021), mainly due to a major energy crisis which brought the price of gas and electricity to low levels. France has become a net importer of electricity for the first time due in particular to the shutdown of more than half of its nuclear fleet for part of the year. Meanwhile, exports grew at a softer 18.5% (vs 17.1%), mainly driven by chemical products, energy, transport equipment and agri-food products.
Published on 2023-02-07

France Trade Deficit Widens in November
France's trade deficit widened to EUR 13.8 billion in November of 2022 from EUR 11.6 billion in the previous month. Imports rose by 2.3 percent to EUR 64.8 billion. Meanwhile, exports went down 1.4 percent month-over-month to EUR 51 billion, on reduced sales of capital goods, while stable for consumer goods. The energy gap slightly narrowed to EUR 8.4 billion from EUR 8.7 billion in October. Excluding energy, the trade deficit went up to EUR 7.6 billion from EUR 5.1 billion.
Published on 2023-01-09

France Trade Deficit Narrows on Lower Energy Imports
France's trade deficit narrowed to EUR 12.2 billion in October of 2022 from a record trade gap of EUR 17.2 billion in the previous month, well below market estimates of a €16 billion shortfall. Imports sank 8.2 percent to EUR 63.6 billion, after reaching a record high of EUR 69.3 billion in the previous month, mostly due to lower energy purchases, namely natural gas as stocks were almost replenished at the end of September, thanks to the filling campaign for the winter. Electricity imports also declined namely in industry, with both volumes and prices falling. Meanwhile, exports went down 1.4 percent month-over-month to EUR 51.4 billion, on reduced sales of intermediate and capital goods. The energy gap narrowed to EUR 9.3 billion from EUR 12.9 billion in September. Excluding energy, the trade deficit went down to EUR 5 billion from EUR 6.6 billion.
Published on 2022-12-07

France Trade Deficit Hits Record High
France’s trade deficit widened to €17.49 billion in September of 2022, above market estimates of a €14.3 billion gap. It was the largest trade gap since available records began in January of 1970, mainly due to a deterioration in the energy balance (€-13.1 billion) while the non-energy deficit narrowed slightly by €0.1 billion. Meanwhile, exports jumped 23.6% to a record high of €52 billion while imports surged 41.1% to also reach an all-time high of €69.5 billion. Considering the third quarter of 2022, exports went up 5.1% and imports surged 8%, thus widening the trade shortfall to €47.6 billion, due to higher purchases for electricity and liquefied natural gas.
Published on 2022-11-08

France Trade Gap Hits Fresh High
France’s trade deficit widened to €15.3 billion in August of 2022 from an upwardly revised €14.8 billion in July, above market estimates of a €14.83 billion shortfall. It was the largest trade gap since available records began in January of 1997. Imports rose by 4.3% over a month to a new all-time high of €66.5 billion, largely on higher purchases of natural hydrocarbons, electricity, waste (15.3%); transport equipment (7.2%) and mechanical equipment, electrical, electronic and computers (6.1%). Meanwhile, exports advanced by 4.5% to a record high of €51.2 billion, mainly boosted by shipments of natural hydrocarbons, electricity, waste (55.5%) and transport equipment (13%). Within key trading partners, purchases rose mostly from Africa (14.3%) and the EU (4.6%) but fell from the Near and Middle East (-12%). Overseas sales were up primarily to Asia (10.7%), the Near and Middle East (7.2%) and Africa (13.5%).
Published on 2022-10-07

France Trade Deficit Hits New High
France’s trade gap widened to €14.54 billion in July of 2022 from an upwardly revised €13.08 billion in June, topping market estimates of a €13.56 billion shortfall. It was the largest trade deficit since available records began in January of 1997. Imports rose by 0.5% over a month to a new all-time high of €63.28 billion, as higher purchases of natural hydrocarbons, electricity, waste (9.7%) and coke & refined petroleum products (8.6%) more than offset declines in those of metallurgical & metal products (-4.5%); miscellaneous manufactured products (-9.6%) and transport equipment (-3.2%). Meanwhile, exports fell by 2.3% to €48.74 billion, amid reduced shipments of coke & refined petroleum products (-13.5%); natural hydrocarbons, electricity, waste (-5.9%) and chemical products, perfumes and cosmetics (-6.7%). Within key trading partners, purchases rose mostly from the Near and Middle East (13%). Sales were down primarily to the EU (-2.1%) and America (-5.5%).
Published on 2022-09-08