High oil prices also added to the deficit while France became a net importer of electricity as a record number of nuclear power plants had to go offline for maintenance. Meanwhile, the dollar's depreciation, which made goods from the euro zone more expensive on international markets, as well as supply chain problems, added to the deficit. The deficit also weighed on the broader current account, pushing it into a deficit of 54 billion euros from a surplus in 2021 despite a record services surplus last year thanks to revenue from the transport and tourism sectors. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by Jason Neely and Frank Jack Daniel)
(Corrects 2021 figure to 86 bln, shows deficit nearly doubled,
not more than doubled)
PARIS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - France's trade deficit nearly
doubled in 2022 to a new record high as Europe's energy crisis
caused its gas, oil and power imports to soar, official data
showed on Tuesday.
The trade deficit surged to 164 billion euros ($176 billion)
from 86 billion the previous year, with 86% of that increase
directly due to energy imports, the trade ministry said.
France, like other EU countries, raced to fill its gas
stocks for the winter as Russian exports to Europe dwindled
after the war in Ukraine began, pushing gas prices to record
levels.
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