Philippine exports fall for first time in three months but imports surge

[MANILA] Philippine exports declined 7.5 per cent in November from a year earlier as the country's major shipments posted annual declines due to sputtering demand from some its major markets.

Exports to the country's top trading partners - Japan and the US - fell 21.8 per cent and 13.5 per cent, respectively. But shipments to Hong Kong and China grew 4.7 per cent and 5.2 per cent, respectively.

In a sign that domestic economic activity remained robust, imports rose 19.7 per cent, the highest in six months, due to sharp increases in nearly all of the country's other major import items like iron and steel, and transport equipment.

Manila posted a wider trade deficit of US$2.57 billion in November compared with a US$977 million gap in the same month the year before.

Growth reached an annual 7.1 per cent in the third quarter of the year, Asia's second highest and the country's strongest quarter in three years. The government expects full-year growth around 7 per cent.

REUTERS