France: trade deficit widens to 6.9 billion euros in September

Europe 1 with AFP 10:17 am, November 09, 2021

The French trade deficit widened a little more to 6.9 billion euros in September, affected by the rise in import prices and the energy bill which peaked imports to a record, announced Tuesday the Customs.

This deficit is slightly higher than the statistics of the previous month which saw the difference between exports and imports rise to 6.8 billion.

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Imports close to their historic peak

In July and June the deficit was 6.6 billion euros, also detail Customs in the latest figures updated in a press release.

As in the previous month, the deficit is partly due to the increase in the energy bill and the rise in the prices of intermediate goods.

Exports have increased by 300 million euros per month on average since the start of the year and are only 1% of their 2019 level, before the pandemic, explain Customs.

At the same time, imports advanced by 600 million on average and peaked at 48.9 billion euros, "the highest level ever reached".

Trompe l'oeil dynamics

These levels are however "to be put into perspective", specify the Customs.

The dynamism of trade "is largely due to the rise in the prices of raw materials, particularly energy, and industrial products. In terms of volume, the level of imports and exports is almost stable over the first nine months of the year" .

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The way out of the crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a sharp increase in demand for energy and goods, which has created major supply difficulties everywhere in the world, sometimes significantly increasing the cost of certain purchases in outside the borders.

On the balance of payments side, which includes trade in services, the current account deficit stood at 2.7 billion euros, a deterioration of 1.3 billion compared to August, detailed the Banque de France Thursday.