Philippines Trade Deficit Narrows On Strong Export Growth

(RTTNews) - The Philippine trade deficit narrows in October from the last year, as exports rose at the fastest pace in over a year, while the pace of growth in imports slowed, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed on Tuesday.

The trade deficit declined to $3.306 billion in October from $3.822 billion in the same month last year. In September, the deficit was $4.843 billion.

Exports logged a double-digit growth of 20.0 percent yearly in October, following a 7.1 percent rise in September. This was the fastest growth seen since May last year.

Imports increased 7.5 percent annually in October, after a 14.4 percent growth in the previous month. Import growth eased to the lowest since January last year.