PH imports up 4.9% to $4.993B in Feb.

The country’s imports rose 4.9 percent in February from that of a year ago—the highest growth rate since September 2011, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).

This development supported views that the decline in the trade sector had bottomed out, while growing demand would likely fuel faster economic growth this year.

In February, the import bill reached $4.993 billion, higher than the $4.761 billion reported in the same month last year.

Also, total external trade in goods that same month climbed 9.2 percent to $9.423 billion from a year ago. With exports up 14.6 percent year-on-year to $4.43 billion, the balance of trade in goods in February came in at a deficit of $562 million.

This brought the trade gap in the first two months of the year to $1.57 billion, the statistics agency Friday reported.

Electronics, which made up more than a fourth of imports in February, declined by 5.1 percent year-on-year to $1.422 billion. Still, this was an improvement from the 26.9-percent decline in electronic imports in January.

Economist Cid L. Terosa of the University of Asia and the Pacific said via text message that the improvement in electronics imports would translate to gains in exports as well.

“The electronics sector will improve in the coming months in terms of both exports and imports since signs of recovery have emerged in the world market for electronic products. In the near term, I see exports and imports gaining more momentum and creating a bang in the second semester,” Terosa said.

Japan was the biggest source of imports in February, accounting for 13.4 percent of the total import bill. The United States was the second top source of imports with $542.76 million.

The government has forecast exports to grow by 10 percent this year, and imports by 15 percent, as manufacturers seek to shore up depleted inventories.

“Overall, the Philippines’ trade sector has likely bottomed out and should tread higher in the coming months,” said Radhika Rao, an economist of Forecast PTE in Singapore.  With a report from Reuters