THE COUNTRY’S goods trade deficit widened to its largest gap in nearly four years in April, driven by the Middle East conflict spillovers and weaker peso that made imports expensive.
Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the country’s trade-in-goods deficit reached $5.97 billion in April, widening by almost half from the $3.98-billion gap in April last year. The gap also rose from the $5.03-billion deficit in March.
It was the largest trade deficit in almost four years or since the revised $5.99-billion gap in August 2022.
The country’s trade balance has been in deficit for more than a decade or since the $64.95-million surplus recorded in May 2015.
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