Global| Aug 08 2007French Imports Out Jump Exports
Summary
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 [...]
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 quarter’s 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 | |||||
Robert Brusca
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Robert A. Brusca is Chief Economist of Fact and Opinion Economics, a consulting firm he founded in Manhattan. He has been an economist on Wall Street for over 25 years. He has visited central banking and large institutional clients in over 30 countries in his career as an economist. Mr. Brusca was a Divisional Research Chief at the Federal Reserve Bank of NY (Chief of the International Financial markets Division), a Fed Watcher at Irving Trust and Chief Economist at Nikko Securities International. He is widely quoted and appears in various media. Mr. Brusca holds an MA and Ph.D. in economics from Michigan State University and a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan. His research pursues his strong interests in non aligned policy economics as well as international economics. FAO Economics’ research targets investors to assist them in making better investment decisions in stocks, bonds and in a variety of international assets. The company does not manage money and has no conflicts in giving economic advice.
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