Philippines' trade gap narrows in December 2019

The Philippine trade gap narrowed in December 2019 as exports outpaced imports during the period, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday.

Data from the PSA showed that the country's balance of trade in goods (BoT-G) posted a $2.48-billion deficit, 40.6% narrower than the $4.17-billion deficit in December 2018.

External trade — the total value of import and export receipts — in December amounted to $13.96 billion, 2.4% higher than the $13.63 billion the same month in 2018.

Export shipments increased by 21.4% to $5.74 billion from $4.73 billion, given the increases in nine out of the top 10 major export commodities.

Increases were seen in cathodes and sections of cathodes, of refined copper (471.2%); fresh bananas (34.9%); gold (30.2%); electronic products (24.9%); chemicals (18.2%); and machinery and transport equipment (12.6%).

Increments were also reported in other manufactured goods (10.4%); ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircraft and ships (3.5%); and coconut oil (1.1%).

Meanwhile, imports fell by 7.6% to $8.22 billion from $8.90 billion in December 2018, due to decrements in seven of the top 10 major import commodities.

These were iron and steel (-38.0%);  cereals and cereal preparations (-30.8%); industrial machinery and equipment (-21.9%); plastics in primary and non-primary forms (-21.5%);  other food and live animals (-11.5%); electronic products (-7.1%); and transport equipment (-1.2%).

"For the first quarter of 2020, we expect the trade gap to be substantially smaller as net trade drop on the back of supply chain disruptions from the nCoV epidemic to reflect a general slowdown in activity," Robert Dan Roces, chief economist at Security Bank Corp., said in a separate email.

The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday reported that the number of persons under investigation (PUI) for possible nCoV infection has risen to 314.

Meanwhile, over 1,000 people have so far died in China, with most deaths recorded in the provincial capital of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.

"Recovery should take place faster as the fiscal budget for 2020 and 2019 operate simultaneously," said Roces.

"Raw materials linked to construction activities will nudge the import side, while the electronics sector should see increased orders for exports on catch up activities," he elaborated. —KG, GMA News