France's trade deficit widened in September to 8.1 billion euros

France's trade deficit widened to 8.1 billion euros in September, against a backdrop of a sharp increase in imports while exports decreased, according to a press release from French customs on Friday. Over twelve months, however, France's cumulative deficit continued to improve, as it has since February, but it slowed down to stand at 82.4 billion euros.

This is the second consecutive month of increase in the trade deficit, which reached 6.7 billion euros in July and 7.4 billion euros in August, according to revised figures released on Friday. The French trade deficit has been on a downward trend in recent months, after having recorded historic records over the whole of 2022 and 2023. Over twelve months, however, France's cumulative deficit continued to reduce, as has been the case since February. But the pace of this reduction slowed and the deficit stood at 82.4 billion euros over 12 months.

In detail, France's energy balance deteriorated by 100 million euros in September “after several months of continuous improvement”to stand at 4.5 billion euros. This decline is attributable to imports which increase slightly while exports are stable, indicate customs. The deterioration of the balance excluding energy continued, at 5.2 billion euros, compared to 4.6 billion euros the previous month. The balance of manufactured products is the main contributor to this decrease. The current account deficit reached 2.1 billion euros in September, after a deficit of 1.2 billion euros in August, according to data from the Banque de France.