12.02.201905:53:00UTC+00Philippine Trade Deficit Narrows In December

Philippine foreign trade deficit in December decreased from a year ago, as exports and imports fell, figures from the Philippine Statistical Authority showed on Tuesday.

The merchandise trade gap narrowed to $3.75 billion in December from $3.97 billion in the corresponding month last year.

Exports declined by 12.3 percent year-over-year in December after a 0.3 percent fall in the previous month, confounding economists' forecast for an increase of 2.8 percent.

Shipments of electronic products, the country's to export, shrunk by 15.2 percent from a year ago.

Meanwhile, imports dropped sharply by 9.4 percent annually in December after a 6.8 percent growth in November. Economists had expected a 5.0 percent growth.