French Trade Gap Widens In March

(RTTNews) - France's foreign trade deficit increased in March as imports grew faster than exports, data from the customs office revealed on Thursday.

The trade gap widened to EUR 6.9 billion in March from EUR 5.5 billion in February. The expected deficit was EUR 5.6 billion.

In the corresponding month last year, the shortfall was also EUR 5.5 billion.

Exports posted a monthly increase of 1.0 percent in March, while imports climbed at a comparatively faster pace of 3.2 percent.

The rise in imports was led by increased supplies of energy products, especially from Kazakhstan. The increase in value was mainly due to higher energy prices linked to the crisis in the Middle East.

On a yearly basis, exports grew 3.1 percent, while imports logged a decline of 0.5 percent.