According to customs figures, the French trade deficit narrowed in July, notably due to the drop in imports.
Foreign trade is improving slightly. France’s trade deficit narrowed to 5.9 billion euros in July, helped by a decrease in imports, customs announced on Friday, September 6.
Exports remained at 50.4 billion euros while imports fell by 600 million euros to 56.3 billion euros, according to customs.
The trade deficit for June, initially announced at 7.1 billion euros, was revised down by 600 million euros to 6.5 billion euros.
Energy deficit is narrowing
The energy deficit narrowed by EUR 400 million in July after a decrease of EUR 700 million in June. This recovery is due to the continued decline in imports in value, while exports fell slightly.
Excluding energy, the trade balance is almost stable. It improved this month by 100 million euros. Cumulative over twelve months, the trade deficit has been falling constantly since February 2023, and stood at 82.6 billion euros in July.
It had reached a record of 164 billion euros in 2022 and nearly 100 billion euros in 2023. France has not generated a trade surplus since 2002.
The current account deficit reached 1.2 billion euros in July, after 2.5 billion in June, according to data from the Banque de France.
