COLOMBIA: Trade Deficit Decreases In July On Annual Basis

(RTTNews) - Colombia's trade balance recorded a US$ 520.1 million deficit in July, from a US$ 967.6 million deficit in the same period of 2016, the country's statistics office said on Tuesday.

The deficit's decrease was primarily due to a US$ 1.23 billion free-on-board (FOB) surplus in the group of fuels and extractive industries' products, a figure US$ 232.4 million FOB higher than in July 2016 manufacturing group deficit (US$ 2.06 billion FOB) increased by US$ 49.9 million FOB in the same comparison basis.

Meanwhile, Colombian imports increased by 11.8% in July 2017 compared to the same month in the previous year, from US$ 3.35 billion CIF (Cost Insurance and Freight) in July 2016 to US$ 3.75 billion CIF in the same month of 2017.

The growth in Colombian imports was due to 10.6% increases in the manufacturing group and 37.6% in the group of fuels and extractive industries' products.