Manila suffers deficit

Manila suffers deficit

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines suffered a US$440 million
balance of payments deficit in the first four months of 1995, the
Central Bank announced yesterday.

This was a sharp reversal from the $972-million surplus posted
in the first four months of 1994 but an improvement over the
$645-million deficit in the three months to March.

Central Bank governor Gabriel Singson said the improved
balance of payments situation was due to the return of foreign
funds into the country, signaling improved investor confidence in
the Philippines.

Singson also credited the "disciplined monetary policy," of
the government for bringing about "an era of confidence-building
stability marked by low inflation, declining interest rates and a
stable exchange rate."

In a separate development, the National Statistics Office
(NSO) announced that the country's total exports rose to $6.484
billion in the first five months of 1995, up 30 percent from the
same period in 1994.

The United States remained the country's biggest export
market, accounting for 34.5 percent of total exports, followed by
Japan at 16.18 percent.