France Balance of TradeJuly 2023 Data - 1970-2022 Historical - August Forecast

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.

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.

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.