Trade balance posts €391m deficit in Sept

The balance of trade showed a deficit of EUR 391 million in September, according to the international trade in goods statistics provided by the Finnish Customs.

In January-September 2020, the trade balance had a deficit of EUR 2.8 billion, said a Customs press release on Monday.

The deficit was almost EUR 1.8 billion more than that in the corresponding period of last year.

The value of Finnish exports decreased by 7.8 per cent year on year in September and the value was EUR 4.9 billion.

Export volumes decreased by 2.2 per cent and export prices by 5.1 per cent year on year.

The value of imports declined 4.8 per cent in September to EUR 5.3 billion.

Import prices decreased by 2.6 per cent and import volumes by 0.6 per cent compared to the corresponding figures in September 2019.

In January-September, the aggregated value of exports decreased by 15.2 per cent and the value of imports by 11.3 per cent compared to the corresponding figures in the same period of last year.

The aggregated trade balance surplus by commodity group decreased in the trade in forest industry products and metal products in January-September compared with that in the corresponding period of last year.

The terms of trade weakened in September compared to that in the corresponding month of 2019, as export prices fell more than import prices.

The value of exports of capital goods decreased by 5.0 per cent and the value of exports of industrial supplies by 7.1 per cent year on year in September.

The value of exports of fuels and lubricants decreased 22.4 per cent. The value of exports of consumer goods increased 0.2 per cent and the value of exports of food and beverages 4.1 per cent. The value of exports of transport equipment and parts and accessories decreased 11.3 per cent.

The value of imports of food and beverages increased 0.7 per cent and the value of imports of other consumer goods 10.3 per cent.

The value of imports of industrial supplies decreased 4.0 per cent. The value of imports of capital goods decreased by 9.1 per cent, but the value of imports of transport equipment increased by 11.8 per cent. The sharpest decline in the value of imports was for fuels and lubricants. The value of imports fell by 32.4 per cent in September compared with that in the corresponding month of last year.

Exports to EU countries fell by 3.7 per cent and exports to non-EU countries by 12.5 per cent in September.

Imports from EU countries declined by 2.9 per cent and from non-EU countries by 7.5 per cent in September. In January-September, exports to EU countries declined by 14.5 per cent and to non-EU countries by 16.1 per cent. During the same period imports from EU countries decreased by 9.5 per cent and from non-EU countries by 13.8 per cent.