In September, France's trade deficit expanded to its highest level in nearly a year, according to recent figures from the customs office released on Friday. The deficit grew to EUR 8.3 billion, up from EUR 7.7 billion in August, marking the largest gap since October of last year. Contrary to economic forecasts predicting a reduction to EUR 7.0 billion, the trade deficit actually increased. A closer look at the data reveals that exports dropped by 1.4% on a monthly basis, while imports saw a smaller decline of just 0.3%. When compared to the same month last year, exports experienced a 3.4% decrease, and imports fell by 4.4%.