Balance of trade posts €25m deficit in November

The balance of international trade showed a deficit of 25 million euros in November, according to international trade in goods statistics by Finnish Customs.

In November of the previous year the trade deficit was 238 million euros, said an official press release on Thursday.

In January-November, the balance of trade had a deficit of almost 2.2 billion euros, which was 2.4 billion euros in January-November of the previous year.

The value of Finnish exports of goods increased by nine per cent in November year-on-year.

The value of Finnish exports was almost 5.8 billion euros. Export prices increased by 3.3 per cent and export volume increased by 6.5 per cent. In January-November exports increased by seven per cent year-on-year.

The value of imports increased by five per cent in November and was 5.8 billion euros. Import prices increased by 8.9 per cent while import volume decreased by 3.0 per cent. In January-November, the total import value increased by seven per cent compared to the previous year.

The terms of trade weakened in November because import prices grew more than export prices. The point figure in November was 96.8, while it was 102.1 November the previous year. The terms of trade weakened from the previous month's point figure of 97.2.

Exports of almost all main groups of goods grew in November. Exports of machinery and equipment grew steadily. Paper pulp exports rose to a record high value on a monthly basis, but the growth in paper and cardboard exports was more moderate.

Exports of refined petroleum products and other chemical industry products increased. Iron and steel exports grew sharply. Exports of instruments and meters along with copper and zinc declined more noticeably. Imports of all major groups of goods grew in November.

Exports to EU member states increased by nine per cent in November and exports to non-EU countries by eight per cent. Exports to the United States decreased, but increased to other major export countries.

Imports from EU-countries increased by three per cent and imports from non-EU countries by seven per cent in November. Imports from Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom decreased, while imports from Russia, Sweden, the United States and China increased.