MANILA— The Philippines posted a trade deficit PHTBAL=ECI of $4.53 billion for April, preliminary official data showed on Friday.
Imports PHIMP=ECI in April fell 17.7% to $9.43 billion from a year earlier, the deepest decline recorded since May 2020.
Exports PHEXP=ECI shrank 20.2%, the biggest decline since May 2020, to $4.9 billion, falling for a fifth successive month, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.
The World Bank this week flagged high global inflation and a weaker economy as downside risks to the Philippines including its exports.
—Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Martin Petty