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Philippine imports drop to a record low in January


MANILA, Philippines - Philippine imports in January dropped to a record low, reflecting the worsening downturn in the global trade. Imports contracted 34.5 percent, an all-time low, following December's 34-percent slide, the National Statistics Office reported on Wednesday. The contraction in Philippine imports started in October last year, when imports slipped 11.13 percent. By November, inbound shipments plummeted by a 31.52 percent. Meanwhile, tor the first month of the year, the trade deficit reached $759 million, lower than $762 million in the same month in 2008 as exports in January dipped by 40.6 percent to $2.511 billion. Electronic product imports – components used for the Philippines' top export – fell 43.3 percent. On a monthly basis, however, it improved by 15.1 percent. Electronic products accounted for 40 percent of total imports. "Among the major groups of electronic products, components/devices (semiconductors) having the biggest share of 32.1 percent, decelerated by 44.7 percent to $1.049 billion from $1.898 billion in January 2008," the NSO added. The US remained the Philippines' top import source, followed by Japan and China. Other largest sources were Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Malaysia. - GMANews.TV
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