French trade deficit widens in January on slowing manufacturing sales

At the end of January, French trade deficit stood at 5.7 billion euros (7.9 billion U.S. dollars), up from 5.2 billion euros recorded in December 2013, France Customs figures showed on Friday. After a sharp rebound in December, French sales abroad lost momentum at the start of the year due to a decline in exports of manufactured goods, according to a French Customs report. The value of January's exports was at 36.3 billion euros, down by 1.6 percent from the previous month, and that of imports was at 42 billion euros with a more moderate decline, said the report. For 2013, the cumulated trade deficit narrowed to 61.2 billion euros in total, compared with 67.3 billion euros a year earlier.