MANILA, Philippines — As imports continued to rapidly outpace exports, the country’s balance of trade swung to a record high $4.21 billion deficit in October, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday. For the first 10 months of 2018, the trade deficit increased sharply to $33.92 billion from $20.13 billion in the same period a year earlier. A trade surplus was registered with the US as exports valued at $996.86 million outpaced imports of $721.71 million in October 2018. China was the biggest supplier of imports during the reference period, with import bills totaling $2.13 billion, resulting in a trade deficit as exports to this country was placed at only $804.53 million during the period. A wide trade deficit was likewise seen with Korea as imports of $1.08 billion in October greatly outpaced exports of $254 million.

Source: Philippine Star December 11, 2018 16:03 UTC