Trade balance posts €389m deficit in April

The trade balance showed a deficit of EUR 389 million In April 2024, according to the statistics of international trade in goods provided by Finnish Customs on Friday.

In January-April 2024, the trade balance had accumulated a deficit of EUR 2.2 billion.

The aggregate trade surplus by commodity group for products of industrial machinery and equipment increased.

For products of both mechanical and chemical forest industry and metals the trade surplus decreased compared to the previous year.

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

According to the statistics, the value of Finnish exports of goods decreased by 2.5 per cent year-on-year in April.

The value of Finnish exports was EUR 6.3 billion. Export volume increased by 2.5 per cent, and export prices declined by 4.4 per cent year-on-year.

The value of imports increased by 8.0 per cent to EUR 6.6 billion. Import prices declined by 1.4 per cent, and import volume increased by 11.3 per cent compared to April 2023.

In January-April, the total value of exports decreased by 13.0 percent and the value of imports by 7.0 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

Change of export volume during the latest 12 months was minus 4.7 per cent (12-month moving average May 2023 – April 2024). The corresponding figure it was minus 8.5 per cent.

The terms of trade declined in April compared to the corresponding month of 2023 as export prices declined more rapidly than import prices.

The point figure in April was 97.3, while it was 100.4 in April 2023. The terms of trade weakened also from March 2024.

The value of exports of capital goods increased by 12.1 per cent in April, and the value of exports of industrial supplies by 4.8 per cent year-on-year.

The value of exports of fuels and lubricants decreased by 58.4 percent. The value of exports of consumer goods increased by 2.6 percent and the value of exports of food and beverages by 20.5 percent. The value of exports of transport equipment and parts decreased by 13.3 per cent.

The value of imports of industrial supplies increased by 5.0 per cent in April and the value of imports of capital goods by 15.1 per cent year-on-year.

The value of imports of transportation equipment and their parts increased by 4.6 percent. The value of imports of fuels and lubricants decreased by 10.3 percent.

The value of imports of food and beverages increased by 19.1 percent and the value of imports of consumer goods by 17.3 percent.

The value of exports to EU countries decreased by 10.1 percent and exports outside the EU increased by 9.8 percent in April.

Imports from EU countries increased by 8.8 percent and imports from outside the EU by 6.9 percent in April. In January-April, total exports to EU countries declined by 13.2 percent and exports to outside the EU by 12.7 percent.

In the same period, imports from EU countries decreased by 7.2 percent and from outside the EU by 6.8 percent.

Earlier this month, the preliminary statistics showed that the trade balance was in deficit of EUR 320 million in April.