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By James Mackenzie
PARIS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - France's trade deficit hit a record 55.7 billion euros ($71.35 billion) in 2008, hit by high oil prices early in the year and by the impact of the economic crisis on major trading partners, data on Friday showed. The French customs office said the seasonally adjusted trade deficit for December surprisingly narrowed to 2.45 billion euros from a revised deficit of 6.02 billion euros in November, well below the expectations from economists polled by Reuters who forecast a deficit of 5.7 billion euros.
December exports of 31.3 billion euros were given a boost by record sales of Airbus aircraft to the value of 2.1 billion euros and the 555 million euro sale of an ocean liner, which are unlikely to be repeated in later months.
A drop in imports to 33.8 billion euros from 37.1 billion in November, due mainly to a 20 percent drop in oil and gas purchases, also pointed at problems in the rest of the economy, which is expected to tip into recession in 2009.
"December looks like an improvement but it's an illusion," said Alexander Law, chief economist at Paris-based consultants Xerfi. "Exports are up, thanks to an ocean liner and Airbus but those are exceptional."
"As for imports, their drop is the sign of an economy in recession. The less we consume, the less we produce and the less we import," he said.
High oil prices in the earlier part of 2008 were mainly responsible for the sharp widening of the deficit from 40.6 billion euros in 2007, with 80 percent of the difference down to energy costs, Trade Minister Anne-Marie Idrac said.
EUROPE WEAKER
Idrac put a brave face on the record 2009 deficit, saying the easing in the euro against the dollar and lower oil prices "should improve things and facilitate a much more favourable (trade) position than in 2008."
But Friday's data showed the impact of the economic slowdown on France's main EU trading partners, a market which accounts for nearly two-thirds of exports and which in December were at their lowest level since May 2004 at just over 18 billion euros.
Car sales to other countries in the bloc have suffered particularly badly as demand has fallen off this year and the sector fell into deficit for the first time in a decade.
The overall automobile sector trade deficit hit 3.4 billion euros after exports fell 10.4 percent in 2008 as French car sales to Spain and the United Kingdom fell by four-fifths and sales to Italy, Germany and Belgium were halved.
The industry's woes have been particularly serious as the sector accounts for about one in 10 French jobs and with unemployment over two million and climbing, employment has become the government's top priority.
The slowdown in industrial activity elsewhere in Europe also helped fuel a steady widening in the deficit for intermediate goods to 14.1 billion euros. Lower prices for products like steel and organic chemicals contributed to the shortfall.
Exports of food and farming products (+8 percent) and consumer goods (+3.5 percent) rose, as did capital equipment sales, which were up 4 percent, helped by strong sales of the Airbus A380 aircraft. (Additional reporting by Estelle Shirbon, Tamora Vidaillet and Crispian Balmer; editing by Stephen Nisbet)