France's balance of payments 2023Feb

Current account deficit remained stable in February

In February, the current account deficit (seasonally and working-day adjusted data) remained stable at -3 billion euros (after -3.3 billion the previous month). The goods deficit decreased mainly due to the reduction of the energy bill, but remained at a high level (-8.6 billion euros, against -9.9 billion in January). This improvement was offset by a decrease in the surplus of services (2.7 billion euros after 3.5 billion the previous month).

The financial account (not seasonally adjusted) registered net capital inflows of 21.4 billion euros. Portfolio investment recorded net inflows of 15.5 billion euros, while loans and deposits showed net outflows of 9.7 billion.
France's balance of payments
(EUR billions)
2020 (a) 2021 (a) Jan-23
(b)		 Feb-23
(b)
Current account (seasonally and working-day adjusted) -41.5 9.0 -3.3 -3.0
Goods (1) -59.1 -67.4 -9.9 -8.6
Energy -23.9 -41.0 -7.5 -6.5
Goods excl. Energy -35.2 -26.4 -2.4 -2.1
Services 18.7 36.4 3.5 2.7
Travel 4.2 5.1 1.6 1.3
Transport services -0.7 16.5 0.4 0.3
Professional and management consulting services, Research and development and Technical services, trade-related and other business services 9.0 10.9 0.2 -0.2
Other services (2) 6.2 4.0 1.3 1.3
Primary and secondary income (3) -1.1 40.0 3.1 2.9
Capital account (not adjusted) 2.1 11.7 0.0 0.1
Financial account (not adjusted) -54.3 3.0 -3.7 -21.4
Direct investment 5.5 -9.7 1.3 1.6
Abroad 17.0 64.9 5.5 6.9
In France 11.5 74.6 4.2 5.3
Portfolio investment -33.1 -5.3 16.6 -15.5
Assets 141.2 98.8 71.4 -6.9
Liabilities 174.3 104.1 54.8 8.6
Financial derivatives -23.8 17.8 3.0 -2.8
Loans and deposits(4) -6.8 -22.6 -15.6 9.7
Reserve assets 4.0 22.8 -9.0 -14.4
Net errors and omissions -14.8 -17.7 -6.6 -15.3
a) Annual report 2021 data (b) Provisional data.
(1) to (4) See methodological notes on page 2.
Source and production: BANQUE DE FRANCE - DGSEI
Current account balance and its components (billion euros, seasonally and working-day adjusted data)
Methodological notes relating to pages 1 and 3

(1) Data on trade in goods are FOB-FOB values, which means without cost, insurance and freight. This expenditure is recorded in the services item. Exchanges of goods cover General merchandise published by the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DGDDI) on one side, merchanting and methodological adjustments calculated by the Banque de France, on the other side. In order to ensure the comparability of French balance of payments with those of other countries and conformity with the international standards, the international standard for Balance of Payments statistics is released under the aegis of the International Monetary Fund. The key concept for the balance of payments is the concept of economic ownership which is consistent with the national accounts.
(2) Services other than travel (tourism and professional travels), transport services, professional and management consulting services, R&D and development and technical services, trade-related and other business services include manufacturing, maintenance and repair, construction, insurance and pension services, financial services, charges for the use of intellectual property, telecommunication, computer and information services, personal, cultural and recreational services and government goods and services.
(3) Income includes primary and secondary incomes. Primary income refers to the flows received by economic agents for their participation in the production process ("compensation of employees") or for the provision of financial assets ("investment income") or for the rental of natural resources ("rent"). Taxes and subsidies on products and production are also included in primary income. Secondary income records current transfers between residents and non-residents. A transfer is a transaction that involves the provision of a good, service, financial asset or another non-produced asset without receiving something of economic value in exchange.
(4) The "other investment" (loans and deposits) component of the financial account includes all transactions in financial assets and liabilities with non-residents that do not concern direct investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives or reserve assets. In practice, this mainly concerns bank deposits and interbank lending, as well as loans and deposits made by insurance companies and all kinds of investment companies and funds.
Revisions Q4 2022
Not seasonally adjusted, EUR billions
Current publications Previous publications Revisions
(a) (b) (a-b)
Q4 Q4 Q4
Current account -6.7 -7.1 0.5
Goods (1) -30.4 -30.7 0.3
Energy -27.4 -27.6 0.1
Goods excl. Energy -2.9 -3.1 0.2
Services 10.1 9.8 0.3
Travel 0.2 2.7 -2.5
Transport services 3.2 3.6 -0.4
Professional and management consulting services, Research and development and Technical services, trade-related and other business services 2.1 2.5 -0.3
Other services (2) 4.5 1.1 3.5
Primary and secondary income (3) 13.6 13.7 -0.1
Capital account 1.8 1.7 0.1
Financial account -19.7 -12.0 -7.7
Direct investment -13.1 -1.7 -12.0
Abroad 14.9 19.6 -4.7
In France 28.6 21.3 7.2
Portfolio investment -86.7 -58.3 -28.4
Assets -39.8 -37.2 -2.6
Liabilities 46.9 21.0 25.8
Financial derivatives -11.5 -4.4 -7.1
Loans and deposits(4) 90.5 50.7 39.8
Reserve assets 1.7 1.7 0.0
Net errors and omissions -14.8 -6.6 -8.2
(1) to (4) See methodological notes on page 2.
More information on methodology, time series, calendar
All statistical time series publlshed by the Banque de France can be accessed on Webstat Banque de France
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Balance of paymentsSTAT INFO - February 2023
Contact: Stat Info Balance of payments

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France's balance of payments
  • Published on 04/07/2023
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Published on Friday, April 7, 2023