According to the statistics released by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, France's basic steel product and ferroalloy exports amounted to a value of EUR 4.5 billion in the first five months of 2012, remaining more or less stable compared to the same period of the previous year with just a slight decrease of 0.1% YoY.

The cumulative value of France's steel product and ferroalloy exports has risen steadily since March 2010 on YoY basis. In the first five months of 2012, steel and ferroalloys ranked tenth among the most exported products of the country, falling from the seventh rank in the end of the first four months of the year.

During the period in question, France exported EUR 881 million of steel pipes and tubes, down by 15.5% YoY, EUR 202 million of cold rolled steel strip, down by 19.9% YoY, EUR 175 million of cold rolled steel bars, down by 6.9% YoY, EUR 174 million of cold drawn wire, up by 0.7% YoY and EUR 271.6 million of metal structures and parts, down by 9.8% YoY.

Meanwhile, in the January to May 2012 period, France's basic steel product and ferroalloy imports totaled EUR 4.2 billion, down by 15% YoY.

During the given period, France imported EUR 725 million of steel pipes and tubes, down by 11.2% YoY, EUR 250 million of cold rolled steel strip, down by 18.9% YoY, EUR 205 million of cold rolled steel bars, down by 7.9% YoY, EUR 170 million of cold drawn wire, down by 15.2% YoY and EUR 561 million of metal structures and parts, down by 6.1% YoY.

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