PH trade gap narrowed year-on-year in January

MANILA  – The Philippines’ foreign trade deficit narrowed 24 percent year-on-year in January, as exports grew while imports contracted.

The country’s trade gap amounted to $4.22 billion in the first month of 2024, smaller than the $5.56 billion deficit recorded a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported Tuesday.

However, the January shortfall was larger than the $4.18 billion deficit in December.

READ: Trade deficit shrank to four-month low in Dec 2023

A trade deficit happens when a country’s import dues are higher than export receipts.

Dissecting the PSA’s report, export sales jumped 9.1 percent year-on-year to $5.94 billion in January, reversing the 0.5 percent contraction in the previous month. That growth also snapped four straight months of slump in outbound shipments.

Meanwhile, imports collapsed 7.6 percent to $10.16 billion, worse than the 3.5 percent decline in December.