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Economy in Brief
U.S. Empire State Manufacturing Index Plummets in August; Lowest Since May '20
The Empire State Manufacturing Index of General Business Conditions plunged to -31.3 in August...
U.S. Import and Export Prices Fall in July; Deepest Since April 2020
Import prices fell 1.4% m/m (8.8% y/y) in July...
U.S. Housing Affordability Declines Further in June
The NAR Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index fell 3.6% in June...
EMU Output Makes Solid Gain in June
The European Monetary Union posted a 0.7% increase for industrial output in June...
U.S. Producer Prices Fall During July; Core Increase Weakens
The Producer Price Index for Final Demand fell 0.5% during July...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Robert Brusca August 8, 2007
France trade deficit shrank in June compared to May but it still remained large. Quarter to quarter the deficit grew by 770mn. In Q2 French imports rose at a 12.1% pace compared to exports that rose by a scant 1.8% annual rate. The chart on the left shows that the reason for that is that exports slid deeper into the quarter than did imports although both rose sharply in June at quarters end.
In June export and import growth rates are strong across all main commodity categories. But over three months we see that import growth has been strong across the board on growth rates ranging from 11% to 27%. For exports, strong consumer goods export flows helped to compensate for weak capital goods and dropping motor vehicle exports.
A French spokesman blamed the persisting deficit on structural problems not on a too-strong euro.
m/m% | % Saar | ||||
Jun-07 | May-07 | 3M | 6M | 12M | |
Balance* | - 3,011.00 | - 3,218.00 | - 2,941.33 | - 2,556.50 | - 2,420.33 |
Exports | |||||
All Exports | 5.5% | -2.1% | 8.7% | 7.6% | 4.2% |
Capital goods | 6.9% | -6.4% | 2.7% | 10.0% | 1.0% |
Motor Vehicles | 3.4% | -2.4% | -1.9% | 9.4% | 1.8% |
Consumer Goods | 4.7% | -0.6% | 22.0% | 1.7% | 4.9% |
IMPORTS | |||||
All Imports | 4.9% | -0.8% | 27.0% | 11.6% | 8.0% |
Capital goods | 4.1% | 1.1% | 22.5% | 13.5% | 3.1% |
Motor Vehicles | 6.1% | -0.5% | 18.8% | 18.6% | 14.7% |
Consumer goods | 4.8% | -1.7% | 11.0% | 5.4% | 7.9% |
*Mil euros; monthly or period average |