PARIS: France’s trade deficit widened in September as declines in exports were sharper than the fall in imports, the French customs office said Tuesday. The eurozone’s second-largest economy recorded a 4.77 billion euro ($5.28 billion) trade deficit in September after a EUR4.19 billion deficit in August. The aeronautical sector pushed the deficit wider as imports rose sharply. Trade in cars and pharmaceuticals declined after spikes in August, but the fall in imports was greater than export declines.
France’s current account–a broader measure of how much an economy earns overseas compared with spending abroad–also recorded a wider deficit in September than August, the Bank of France said separately. The services deficit in the current account widened to EUR0.8 billion from EUR0.2 billion and the goods deficit increased to EUR2.7 billion from EUR2.4 billion, the Bank of France said.
