Trade gap thins to 9-month low

MANILA, Philippines, December 29 ------ The Philippines posted its smallest trade deficit in nine months in November as exports continued to grow, while imports declined. Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the balance of trade in goods – the difference between the value of exports and imports – amounted to a deficit of $3.51 billion in November, down by 29 percent from the $4.94 billion shortfall in the same month last year. This is the lowest trade gap since the $2.97 billion deficit in February.

From January to November, the country posted a lower trade deficit of $45.20 billion from $50.18 billion in the same period last year. In terms of exports, the country’s sales rose by 21 percent to $6.91 billion in November from $5.70 billion in the same month last year. By commodity group, electronic products remained the country’s top export in November, accounting for 61 percent of the total.

Total Philippine exports from January to November amounted to $77.39 billion, 14.5 percent higher than the $67.60 billion in the same period last year. “Exports have been resilient amid diversification of export markets to more countries around the world, other than the US amid higher tariffs,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said in an email. He said some agricultural exports to the US have also been exempted from the 19 percent tariff imposed on Philippine exports.

Source: philstar.com