PARIS: France had a trade gap at 5.2 billion euros (6.37 billion U.S. dollars) at the end of February, slightly down from 5.4 billion euros (6.61 billion dollars) recorded a month earlier mainly due to falling imports, according to customs data released Friday.
Due to a “sharp contraction in aeronautical supplies,” the country’s total imports were down by 1.4 percent over the period after they had increased by 1 percent in January, totalling 44.9 billion euros (54.97 billion dollars).
French exports were worth 39.7 billion euros (48.60 billion dollars), down by 0.9 percent, France’s customs authorities said, adding that “The decline in exports, which remains limited, is essentially due to a few cyclical downturns.”
Over the past 12 months, the cumulated trade deficits stood at 60.2 billion euros (73.70 billion dollars) in total compared to 62.5 billion euros (76.51 billion dollars) in 2017.
