The deficit in the country’s balance of trade in goods improved but the gap in current accounts remained wide in November, analysts said following the release of official data Thursday.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported the trade gap narrowed to 0.04 percent in November 2024. Comparatively, the trade deficit widened 36.3 percent in October and 30.6 percent in November 2023.
Analysts said the recent trade numbers would suggest that the current accounts deficit remained wide, although that was not indicative of the country’s real economic health.
The balance of trade in goods is the difference between the value of a country’s exports and imports. A deficit means the country’s import payments surpassed its export receipts.
While the trade gap might seem alarming, the data does not tell much about the country’s economic health, Cristina Ulang, head of research at First Metro Investment Corp., said.
“The Philippines’ fundamentals remain strong. It is, however, being overshadowed by concerns coming from the uncertainty in the US, courtesy of the incoming Trump presidency,” she said.
“But should the dust settle up there and our local numbers improve, investors will again appreciate the country’s attractiveness,” Ulang added.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Mapa, chief economist for Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., said in a post on X that the trade data showed both exports and imports fell, with “exports down 8.7 percent due to the 20.8 percent drop in electronics.”
Imports also went down after substantial aircraft orders ended last October, while fuel imports declined by 4.9 percent, but that the size of the trade gap suggests the current accounts deficit remains wide, Mapa added.
Electronic products remained the top shipment in November with export receipts totaling $2.79 billion, equivalent to 48.9 percent of the country’s total shipments, the Statistics Authority said.
Total exports reached $67.55 billion in the 11 months to November, down 0.4 percent from $67.83 billion a year earlier, the PSA said
The US remains the top buyer of Philippine exports, amounting to $969.09 million, a 17 percent share of total shipments last November alone. Japan bought $916.12 million or 16.1 percent, followed by China at $786.35 million or 13.8 percent, Hong Kong at $600.24 million or 10.5 percent, and Singapore at $288.11 million or 5.1 percent.
The 11-month import bill amounted to $117.51 billion, up by 1.1 percent from $116.25 billion, a year earlier.
China continued to be the country’s top source of imported goods at $2.82 billion or 27 percent of the total import bill, followed by Indonesia at $877.77 million or 8.4 percent, Japan at $827.75 million or 7.9 percent), Republic of Korea at $774.55 million or 7.4 percent, and US at $621.30 million or 5.9 percent.
