France’s trade deficit saw sluggish growth for the second straight month in November, standing at 13 billion euros thanks to a reduction in energy imports, customs announced Monday.
After reaching 14.1 billion euros in October, compared to the 14.4 billion initially estimated, the deficit was reduced by 1.1 billion thanks to a drop in imports (-1.5 billion) greater than exports (-0.4 billion). In total, France imported goods worth 64.3 billion in November and exported 51.3 billion.
The decline in imports “is driven by the drop in energy supplies, which fell by 1.4 billion this month,” customs indicate. “Indeed, the amount of energy supplies has decreased by 10.4% (after -8.2% in October and -7.0% in September), after having continuously increased since the end of 2020,” it is detailed.
Negative balance of 156,000 million euros in 2022
But excluding trade in energy products from the perimeter of the trade balance, it deteriorates slightly from October to November, amounting to 300 million euros. In the accumulated twelve months, the trade deficit “continues to deteriorate and reaches 159,500 million euros,” specifies the customs office in its press release.
For all of 2022, the French government expects a negative balance of 156 billion euros, according to the finance bill documents for 2023. In 2021, the trade deficit reached an all-time high of 85 billion euros. Regarding the balance of payments, which includes trade in services, the current account deficit doubled between October and November, from 3.4 billion euros to 6.8 billion, according to the Banque de France.
Source: BFM TV
