Trade gap likely narrowed in Jan – UK think tank

TMANILA, Philippines — The country’s trade gap likely narrowed in January compared to the previous month as both exports and imports are expected to have posted slight increases, according to United Kingdom-based think tank Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Miguel Chanco, chief Emerging Asia economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a report yesterday, the Philippines’ trade deficit may have narrowed to $4.4 billion in January after registering a $4.6 billion shortfall in December last year.

The country’s trade gap in December 2022 was 10.2 percent smaller than the $5.12 billion in the same month in 2021.

The December trade gap, however, was wider compared to the $3.71 billion deficit in November 2022.

“Export and import growth probably rebounded to 1.7 percent year-over-year and 0.1 percent year-over-year, respectively,” he said.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the country’s exports dipped by 9.7 percent to $5.67 billion in December last year from the $6.28 billion in the same month in 2021.

Goods imported by the country were down by 9.9 percent to $10.26 billion in December.

The PSA will be releasing the January trade deficit data today (March 14).

The country’s trade gap reached a record $58.32 billion last year. This was 38 percent higher than the $42.23 billion in 2021.

Last year, the country’s total exports grew by 5.6 percent to $78.84 billion.

Meanwhile, the country’s total imports rose by 17.3 percent to $137.16 billion from $116.88 billion in 2021.