French Trade Gap Narrows Slightly in December

The French trade deficit narrowed slightly to EUR 4.7 billion in December 2018 from a downwardly revised EUR 4.8 billion in November and compared with market expectations of a EUR 4.0 billion shortfall. Exports rose 2.2 percent month-over-month and imports increased 1.7 percent.
Ministère de l'Économie et des Finances |Stefanie Moya | stefanie.moya@tradingeconomics.com
2/7/2019 8:20:39 AM
Exports went up 2.2 percent from a month earlier to EUR 42.5 billion in December, mainly driven by sales of agricultural, forestry, fishery & aquaculture products (4.3 percent); transport equipment (3.3 percent); mechanical, electrical, electronic & computer equipment (2.0 percent); other industrial products (0.9 percent); refined petroleum products & coke (25.9 percent); and natural hydrocarbons, other mining products, electricity, waste (17.2 percent).

Among major trading partners, exports increased mostly from Germany (5.0 percent), Belgium (1.9 percent) and Italy (0.9 percent), while dropped from China (-14.8 percent) and Spain (-0.2 percent).

Imports advanced 1.7 percent to EUR 47.1 billion in December, mostly boosted by higher purchases of mechanical, electrical, electronic & computer equipment (1.1 percent); transport equipment (9.4 percent); other industrial products (1.7 percent); and agricultural, forestry, fishery & aquaculture products (3.5 percent).

Among major trading partners, imports rose mainly from Spain (2.9 percent), Germany (8.0 percent) and Italy (0.6 percent) while declined from China (-1.4 percent) and Belgium (-2.8 percent).

French Trade Gap Narrows Slightly in December



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