08.01.201904:42:00UTC+00France Trade Deficit Widens In November

France's merchandise trade deficit widened sharply in November and was worse than economists' forecast, preliminary figures from the French Customs showed on Tuesday.

The visible trade deficit rose to EUR 5.1 billion from EUR 4.1 billion in October. Economists had expected a shortfall of EUR 4.9 billion for November. A year ago, the deficit was EUR 5.96 billion.

Exports decreased more than imports in November. The exports value fell by EUR 1.9 billion and imports dropped by EUR 0.8 billion.

In percentage terms, exports fell 4.4 percent month-on-month after a 6.1 percent increase in October. Imports dropped 1.8 percent following a 2.3 percent gain.

In November, exports of transport equipment, especially boats and aircraft, slowed after strong growth in the previous month. Meanwhile, imports of hydrocarbons, chemicals and pharmaceuticals decreased.