Trade balance posts €122m deficit in Jan

The trade balance showed a deficit of EUR 122 million in January, according to the international trade in goods statistics provided by Finnish Customs on Thursday.

The aggregated trade surplus by commodity group for metals increased compared to the previous year.

The trade surplus in products of both mechanical and chemical forest industry and of industrial machinery and equipment decreased.

The deficit increased for transport equipment and electrical machinery and equipment but decreased for ores and metal scrap and crude oil and refined petroleum products.

The value of Finnish exports of goods decreased by 8.5 per cent year-on-year in January. The value of Finnish exports was EUR 5.8 billion. Export volume decreased by 1.3 per cent, and export prices declined by 6.4 per cent year-on-year.

The value of imports decreased by 11.3 per cent in January to EUR 5.9 billion. Import prices declined by 4.1 per cent, and import volume decreased by 6.5 per cent compared to January 2023.

Change of export volume during the latest 12 months was minus 2.8 per cent (12 month moving average February 2023 – January 2024). The corresponding figure for import volume was minus 10.6 per cent.

The terms of trade declined in January compared to the corresponding month of 2023 as export prices declined more rapidly than import prices. The point figure in January was 97.6, while it was 99.9 in January 2023. The terms of trade declined from December 2023.

The value of exports of capital goods decreased by 6.4 per cent in January, and the value of exports of industrial supplies decreased by 8.8 per cent year-on-year. The value of exports of fuels and lubricants decreased by 22.9 percent. The value of exports of consumer goods increased by 18.4 percent and the value of exports of food and beverages by 7.8 percent. The value of exports of transport equipment and parts decreased by 25.3 per cent.

The value of imports of industrial supplies decreased by 19.4 per cent in January and the value of imports of capital goods by 6.0 per cent year-on-year. The value of imports of transportation equipment and their parts decreased by 2.8 percent. The value of imports of fuels and lubricants decreased by 18.7 percent. The value of imports of food and beverages increased by 7.0 percent, but imports of consumer goods decreased by 7.8 percent.

The value of exports to EU countries decreased by 7.1 percent and exports to outside the EU by 10.3 percent in January. Imports from EU countries fell by 6.0 percent and imports from outside the EU by 18.0 percent in January.

Earlier in this month, the preliminary statistics of Finnish Customs said that the trade balance was in deficit of EUR 95 million in January.