FX.co ★ France Trade Gap Narrows More Than Expected

In March 2025, France observed a reduction in its trade deficit, which decreased to €6.2 billion from €7.7 billion in February, surpassing market predictions of €6.9 billion. This represents the smallest trade deficit recorded over the past three months. The improvement was largely attributed to a 5.6% increase in exports, reaching €52.6 billion. Significant contributions to this rise came from transport equipment, which surged by 25.3%, plans and technical drawings, which escalated by 50%, and art, antiques, and collectibles, which climbed by 23.2%. Export growth was observed across most major regions, with increases noted in Asia by 6.9%, the Middle East by 5.9%, the EU by 1.7%, and Africa by 1%. However, export growth to the US decelerated to 2.8%, in contrast to an 8% increase in February, largely due to new US tariffs. In parallel, imports saw a milder growth of 2.3%, totaling €58.8 billion. Increases were noted in the import of plans and technical drawings by 25%, natural hydrocarbons by 7.1%, and agri-food products by 4.3%. Region-wise, import growth was prominent from Africa with a significant 31.5% rise, followed by Asia at 5.4% and the Middle East at 4.9%. Conversely, imports from the EU fell slightly by 0.2%, and those from the Americas dropped by 1.2%.