Paris, May 9, (dpa-AFX/GNA) – France’s foreign trade deficit decreased at the end of the first quarter as imports fell faster than exports, data from the customs office showed Tuesday.
The trade deficit dropped to €8.02 billion ($8.8 billion) in March from €9.3 billion in February.
In the corresponding month of 2022, the deficit totaled €13.6 billion.
Exports decreased 1.2% from the previous month, and the fall in imports was 3.1%.
On a yearly basis, exports were 7.2% higher in March. At the same time, imports registered a comparatively slower increase of 3.7%.
During the first quarter, total exports and imports fell by 1.6% and 7.4%, respectively.
Elsewhere, data from the Bank of France showed that the current account deficit decreased sharply in the March quarter due to the reduction in the energy bill.
The current account deficit narrowed to a seasonally adjusted €2.8 billion in the first quarter from €20.5 billion in the fourth quarter.
The goods trade deficit dropped to €22.8 billion from €35.8 billion, as the energy bill shortfall was reduced to €19.2 billion from €28.1 billion in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the services surplus rose to €10.2 billion in the first quarter from €9.4 billion in the December quarter.
In the first quarter, the financial account balance recorded net capital inflows of €12.9 billion.
GNA