Philippine Trade Gap Narrows In February

(RTTNews) - The Philippine foreign trade deficit decreased in February from a year ago as exports grew amid a fall in imports, preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed on Friday.

The trade deficit dropped to $3.16 billion in February from $3.56 billion in the same month last year. In January, the shortfall was $5.12 billion.

Exports climbed 3.9 percent year-on-year in February, slower than the 6.3 percent strong recovery in the previous month.

By commodity group, coconut oil was the country's top export in February, followed by other manufactured goods and electronic products.

Imports fell 1.8 percent annually in February, reversing an 11.2 percent growth in January.