French trade deficit narrows in October; industrial output rises

France's trade deficit narrowed in October as imports fell faster than exports, data published by the Directorate-General of Customs & Indirect Taxes showed on Friday.

The trade deficit decreased by 38% to EUR3.92 billion in October from EUR6.35 billion in September.

Exports were down 0.5% to EUR51.73 billion in October from EUR51.97 billion in September, but imports declined by more. They were down 4.6% to EUR55.65 billion from EUR58.31 billion.

Separately, France's central bank reported a current account surplus of EUR1.1 billion for October, compared to a deficit of EUR1.6 billion in September.

Meanwhile, output in the manufacturing industry declined by 0.1% in October after a 0.9% rise in September, the National Institute of Statistics & Economic Studies reported. Manufacturing output was up 1.1% in October from a year before, slowing from the 1.3% annual rise that Insee had reported for September.

Industrial output in France rose 0.2% monthly in October, beating FXStreet-cited market expectations of a 0.3% decline, but down from a 0.7% uptick in September, which was revised down from 0.8%.