France Balance Commerciale

France’s trade deficit narrowed to €5.2 billion in February 2024 from a downwardly revised €7.2 billion in the previous month and came less than market expectations of €7.0 billion. It was the lowest trade deficit since January 2021, as exports rose 4.7% month-over-month to a seven-month high of €51.1 billion, while imports increased at a softer 0.5% to €56.3 billion. At the same time, the energy shortfall decreased to €3.8 billion from €4.5 billion in the prior period. Excluding energy, the trade deficit declined to €2.8 billion compared to €4.0 billion in January. In the manufacturing sector, the trade surplus for consumer goods rose by €0.1 billion, reaching €0.8 billion. Meanwhile, the shortfall for investment goods went up by €0.3 billion, standing at €3.2 billion, while it dropped for intermediate goods to €0.9 billion from €1.8 billion previously.