2010.07.0704:16:00UTC+00French Trade Deficit Widens Unexpectedly In May

The French trade deficit increased to EUR 5.5 billion in May from EUR 4.25 billion in April, data from the Customs Office showed Wednesday. This was the biggest deficit since October 2008. Economists had expected the shortfall to narrow to EUR 3.9 billion.

Exports dropped 5.2% on a monthly basis to EUR 29.88 billion in May. At the same time, imports dipped only 1.1% to EUR 35.38 billion. In April, exports were valued at EUR 31.53 billion and imports at EUR 35.79 billion.

As the improvement in foreign trade position in the first quarter was largely neutralized by the fall in investment, the French economy grew only 0.1%, slowing from 0.6% growth in the final quarter of 2009. In the first quarter, exports grew at a faster pace of 4.1%, whereas growth in imports slowed to 2.1%.

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