Philippines posts $4.6 billion trade deficit in December

The economic impact of the intensifying trade war between Washington and Beijing appeared to deepen last month with factory activity and export orders weakening across Asia. (Philstar/File photo)

The Philippines posted a trade deficit of $4.6 billion for December PHTBAL=ECI, the biggest trade gap in three months, government data showed on Thursday.

That brought the full-year trade deficit to $58.3 billion compared with the 2021 gap of $42.2 billion.

Imports in December PHIMP=ECI declined 9.9% to $10.3 billion from a year earlier, the deepest decline since January 2021, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

Exports PHEXP=ECI fell 9.7% to $5.7 billion, the sharpest drop since August 2020.

—Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor

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