France’s trade deficit in goods fell by 500 million euros month-on-month in January to 13.6 billion euros thanks to a reduction in the energy bill, the Insee report reported on Friday, citing customs figures. Imports were 63.6 billion euros and exports 50 billion euros, the customs office said.
Cumulatively for 12 consecutive months, France’s trade deficit, which had hit an all-time record of 164 billion euros in 2022, continues to deteriorate, to 169.2 billion euros, according to the same source. In detail, the supply of energy products fell by 300 million euros in one month and that of non-energy products by 500 million euros, while exports also fell by 300 million euros. Energy prices, which have skyrocketed in 2022, fell 7.3% in January.
The observed trade deficit of capital goods widens to 3,500 million euros, reaching a new historical record after November 2021 (-3,400 million euros), due to a slight decrease in exports.
energy bill
For its part, the Banque de France reported on Friday a reduction in the current account deficit to 3.6 billion euros, compared to 7.6 billion in December. This improvement is mainly a consequence of the “decrease in the goods deficit due to the reduction in the energy bill”, while services registered a surplus of 3.7 billion euros in January, compared to 2.7 billion in December. On the contrary, as in December, the consumer goods balance was slightly positive with a surplus of 100 million euros.
Source: BFM TV
