Exports rose 1% to $6.2b in May — PSA

Exports rose for a second month on higher demand for electronic products, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show.

Merchandise exports in May reached $6.16 billion, up 1 percent from $6.09 billion a year ago. Electronic products. which accounted for 56 percent of total exports, increased 6.2 percent to $3.45 billion from $3.25 billion in the same month last year.

Other commodities that saw higher export sales in May were copper concentrates (up 192.1 percent); ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircrafts and ships (up 31.7 percent); fresh bananas (up 28.6 percent); chemicals (20.1 percent); metal components (14 percent); and gold (8.3 percent).

Meanwhile, imports shrank 5.4 percent in May to $9.43 billion from $9.97 billion a year earlier. This reduced the trade deficit in May to $3.28 billion from a $3.88-billion shortfall in May 2018.  

The trade deficit in the first five months, however, still widened to $16.5 billion from $15.7 billion in the same month last year.

The National Economic and Development Authority said outlook remained upbeat for the economy despite the weak trade figures.

“Global economic outlook for 2019 remains subdued as policy uncertainties and some geopolitical tensions continue to pose risks to many economies. But amid these external developments, the country’s economic outlook remains upbeat,” said Neda director-general and Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia.

Read more: Manila Standard