Trade balance posts €270m surplus in Sep

The trade balance showed a surplus of EUR 270 million in September 2024, according to the international trade in goods statistics provided by Finnish Customs on Thursday.

In January-September 2024, the trade balance had accumulated a deficit of EUR 1.6 billion.

The aggregate trade surplus by commodity group for products of chemical forest industry, industrial machinery and equipment and metals decreased compared to the previous year, but increased for mechanical forest industry products.

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.

The value of Finnish exports of goods increased by 1.7 per cent year-on-year in September.

The value of Finnish exports was EUR 6.5 billion. Export volume increased by 4.2 per cent, but export prices decreased by 1.7 per cent year-on-year. The value of imports increased by 2.1 per cent in September to EUR 6.2 billion.

Import prices remained at the level of the previous year, but import volume increased by 4.0 per cent compared to September 2023.

In January-September, the total value of exports decreased by 4.6 per cent and the value of imports by 4.4 per cent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

Change of export volume during the latest 12 months was minus 2.2 per cent (12-month moving average October 2023 – September 2024). The corresponding figure for import volume was minus 5.6 per cent.

The terms of trade declined in September compared to the corresponding month of 2023 as import prices remained at the level of the previous year and export prices declined.

The point figure in September was 99.4, while it was 101.1 in September 2023. The terms of trade declined also from August 2024.

The value of exports of capital goods decreased by 10.4 per cent in September, but the value of exports of industrial supplies increased by 1.7 per cent year-on-year.

The value of exports of fuels and lubricants decreased by 24.5 per cent. The value of exports of consumer goods increased by 24.5 per cent, and the value of exports of food and beverages increased by 11.4 per cent. The value of exports of transport equipment and parts increased by 79.2 per cent.

The value of imports of industrial supplies increased by 3.8 per cent in September, and the value of imports of capital goods increased by 5.5 per cent year-on-year.

The value of imports of transportation equipment and their parts increased by 3.4 per cent. The value of imports of fuels and lubricants declined by 16.9 per cent. The value of imports of food and beverages increased by 5.2 per cent, and the value of imports of consumer increased goods by 3.7 per cent.

The value of exports to EU countries decreased by 2.5 per cent, and the exports outside the EU increased by 7.2 per cent in September.

Imports from EU countries increased by 0.1 per cent and imports from outside the EU by 5.0 per cent in September.

In January-September, total exports to EU countries declined by 4.9 per cent and exports to outside the EU by 4.2 per cent.

In the same period, imports from EU countries decreased by 3.3 per cent and from outside the EU by 5.9 per cent.

Earlier this month, Finnish Customs in its preliminary statistics said that the trade balance was in surplus of EUR 290 million in September.