Philippine trade deficit

Philippine trade deficit

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines' trade deficit in the first two months of 1995 shrank to US$1.052 billion, down 6.1 percent from the same period in 1994, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said in a statement Saturday.

Exports grew by about 28.7 percent to $2.418 billion while imports grew by 15.7 percent to $3.47 billion dollars, the NSO said.

Electronic components were the country's biggest import item at 419.8 million dollars while industrial equipment and machinery were second and telecommunications equipment and electrical machinery third.

The United States remained the country's biggest trading partner with total trade at $747 million in the first two months of 1995, with Japan second at $595.7 million, and Singapore third at $173 million.