THE Philippines’ balance of payments position yielded a $436 million deficit in February, its widest deficit in four months, central bank data released on Monday showed. The payments deficit expanded from a $251 million gap a year earlier and a $9 million shortfall in January. The February deficit was the widest since November 2016, when the payments position registered a $1.67 billion shortfall. In January, the trade deficit narrowed from a year earlier but widened month-on-month as imports continued to outpace exports. The balance of trade in goods in January 2017 registered a $2.314 billion deficit, narrowing from a $2.638 billion shortfall a year earlier.

Source: Manila Times March 20, 2017 17:48 UTC