PH trade deficit shrank 14.9% in April, says PSA
Inquirer.net MANILA -The countrys trade deficit shrank by 14.9 percent year-on-year in April as two-way trade, exports as well as imports declined sharply, which could indicate that economic growth is slowing compared to the start of this year.
Preliminary data at the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that the import bill exceeded export earnings by $4.53 billion in April compared to $5.3 billion in the same month last year.
Also, while the trade gap improved significantly, two-way traffic of goods in April also dwindled by 18.6 percent to $14.3 billion from $17.6 billion.
On April, export receipts fell faster by 20.2 percent to $4.9 billion from $6.1 billion a year ago when the value of outbound shipments decreased by 9 percent.
In the same months compared, imports also fell faster by 17.7 percent to $9.4 billion from $11.46 billion when the volume ballooned by 29 percent.
A month earlier, in March, the trade deficit ballooned by 11.2 percent while two-way traffic eased by 4.2 percent. Also in March, exports decreased by 9.1 percent as did imports by 1.2 percent.
