French Trade Gap Narrows In July

(RTTNews) - France's trade deficit decreased in July from a month ago as exports rose amid a fall in imports, data released by the customs office showed on Friday.

The trade deficit dropped to EUR 5.6 billion in July from EUR 7.2 billion in June. The expected shortfall was EUR 6.1 billion.

In the corresponding month last year, the trade deficit was EUR 6.2 billion.

During July, the energy balance improved by EUR 0.3 billion.

Exports posted a monthly increase of 2.6 percent, while imports were 0.5 percent lower. On an annual basis, both exports and imports increased by 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.