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. Balance of Trade in France averaged -1238.20 EUR Million from 1970 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 2674 EUR Million in October of 1997 and a record low of -7170 EUR Million in January of 2017.

Balance of Trade in France is expected to be -5200.00 EUR Million by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Balance of Trade in France to stand at -4140.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the France Balance of Trade is projected to trend around -2650.00 EUR Million in 2020, according to our econometric models.

France Balance of Trade
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Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2018-11-08 07:45 AM Balance of Trade €-5.7B €-5.7B €-6.1B € -4.7B
2018-12-07 07:45 AM Balance of Trade €-4.1B €-5.4B €-6.0B €-4.0B
2019-01-08 07:45 AM Balance of Trade €-5.1B €-4.1B €-6.0B € -4.7B
2019-02-07 07:45 AM Balance of Trade €-4.7B €-4.8B €-4B € -3B
2019-03-08 07:45 AM Balance of Trade €-4.7B €-5.4B
2019-04-05 06:45 AM Balance of Trade €-4.7B
2019-05-03 06:45 AM Balance of Trade €-5.2B



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.

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).


Ministère de l'Économie et des Finances |Stefanie Moya | stefanie.moya@tradingeconomics.com
2/7/2019 8:20:39 AM


News

French Trade Gap Widens in November as Exports Fall
The French trade deficit narrowed slightly to EUR 5.1 billion in November 2018 from EUR 4.1 billion in the previous month and compared with market expectations of a EUR 6.0 billion gap. Exports dropped 4.4 percent month-over-month and imports declined 1.8 percent.
Published on 2019-01-08

French Trade Deficit Narrows in October as Exports Jump
The French trade deficit decreased to EUR 4.1 billion in October 2018 from a downwardly revised EUR 5.4 billion in the previous month and below market consensus of a EUR 6.0 billion gap. Exports jumped 6.2 percent to an all-time high and imports climbed at a softer 2.5 percent, also reaching a record.
Published on 2018-12-07

French Trade Gap Narrows Slightly in September
The French trade deficit decreased to EUR 5.66 billion in September 2018 from an upwardly revised EUR 5.70 billion shortfall in the previous month and below market consensus of a EUR 6.1 billion gap. Imports declined 1.6 percent while exports fell at a faster 1.8 percent.
Published on 2018-11-08

French Trade Gap Widens Sharply in August
The French trade deficit widened sharply to EUR 5.6 billion in August 2018 from a revised 3.4 billion in the previous month and way above market consensus of a EUR 4.5 billion gap. Imports jumped 4.9 percent to a near-record of EUR 47.0 billion while exports were almost unchanged at EUR 41.3 billion.
Published on 2018-10-08



France Trade Last Previous Highest Lowest Unit
Balance of Trade -4653.00 -4808.00 2674.00 -7170.00 EUR Million [+]
Current Account -1117.00 -3052.00 4784.00 -6160.00 EUR Million [+]
Current Account to GDP -0.80 -0.90 3.40 -2.10 percent [+]
Imports 47105.00 46336.00 47201.00 1151.90 EUR Million [+]
Exports 42452.00 41528.00 42877.00 1165.60 EUR Million [+]
External Debt 5157170.00 5001019.00 5157170.00 3536444.00 EUR Million [+]
Terms of Trade 115.31 114.30 115.69 89.48 Index Points [+]
Foreign Direct Investment 5192.00 5387.00 18318.00 -8086.00 EUR Million [+]
Capital Flows 24896.00 -13176.00 36458.00 -31626.00 EUR Million [+]
Remittances 43.00 43.00 87.00 22.00 EUR Million [+]
Gold Reserves 2436.00 2436.00 3024.70 2435.38 Tonnes [+]
Terrorism Index 5.48 5.96 5.96 3.38 [+]
Tourism Revenues 3418.00 3157.00 7838.00 1426.00 EUR Million [+]
Tourist Arrivals 82600.00 84500.00 84500.00 75000.00 Thousand [+]
Crude Oil Production 16.00 16.00 58.00 15.00 BBL/D/1K [+]
Weapons Sales 2162.00 2278.00 4029.00 8.00 USD Million [+]

Exports by Country  |   Exports by Category  |   Imports by Country  |   Imports by Category



France Balance of Trade

Since 2004, France has been recording trade deficits due the gradual erosion of the export-oriented industry, the appreciation of the euro and the increasing dependency on imports of energy and manufactured products. In 2017, the biggest trade deficits were recorded with: China & Hong Kong, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium; while the biggest trade surpluses were recorded with: the Middle East, the UK, Africa and Switzerland. This page provides the latest reported value for - France Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. France Balance of Trade - actual data, historical chart and calendar of releases - was last updated on February of 2019.

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-4653.00 -4808.00 2674.00 -7170.00 1970 - 2018 EUR Million Monthly




Country Last Previous
Argentina 1369.00 Dec/18
Australia 3681.00 Dec/18
Brazil 2190.00 Jan/19
Canada -2060.10 Nov/18
China 391.60 Jan/19
Euro Area 16990.70 Dec/18
France -4653.00 Dec/18
Germany 13900.00 Dec/18
India -14730.00 Jan/19
Indonesia -1159.50 Jan/19
Italy 3658.00 Dec/18
Japan -55.29 Dec/18
Mexico 1836.32 Dec/18
Netherlands 3572.00 Dec/18
Russia 18856.00 Dec/18
Saudi Arabia 184673.00 Sep/18
Singapore 1943.12 Dec/18
South Africa 17167.41 Dec/18
South Korea 1336.00 Jan/19
Spain -2568800.00 Nov/18
Switzerland 1787.14 Dec/18
Turkey -2674.41 Dec/18
United Kingdom -3229.00 Dec/18
United States -49313.00 Nov/18


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