Philippine trade deficit narrowed to $4.8B in September

The Philippines’ deficit in the trade of goods for a month narrowed to $4.82 billion in September from a record $6 billion in August, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Preliminary data at the Philippine Statistics Authority show that September’s gap was 26.5 percent higher than the $3.81-billion deficit in the same month of 2021. The growth of the trade deficit was slower this year compared to 68 percent in September last year.

Two-way traffic of goods in September was valued at $19.14 billion, an increase of 15 percent from $17.19 billion in the same month of 2021.

In September, export receipts increased by 7 percent to $7.16 billion, a turnaround from a 2-percent decrease in August and faster than the 6.4-percent growth September 2021.

At the same time, imports jumped by 14 percent to $11.98 billion, slowing down from a surge of 26 percent in August and 23 percent in September last year.