Trade deficit hits 6-month low in Aug.

THE Philippines' trade deficit in goods shrank to a six-month low in August, as exports increased while imports fell, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.

- Lourdes O. Pilar Researcher

Preliminary data from the PSA showed the country's trade-in-goods deficit — the difference between exports and imports — narrowed to $3.54 billion in August. This is 19.4% down from the $4.4-billion deficit in the same month in 2024.

Month on month, the trade gap shrank from the revised $4.42 billion in July.

August saw the narrowest trade deficit since the $2.97-billion gap in February 2025.

Exports went up by 4.6% to $7.06 billion in August, slowing from the 17.6% increase in July but faster than the 0.4% growth in August 2024.

This was the slowest pace of export growth in eight months or since the 1.9% drop in December 2024.

In terms of value, outbound trade in goods in August is the smallest in four months or since the $6.78 billion recorded in April.

On the other hand, imports in August fell by an annual 4.9% to $10.6 billion, ending two straight months of growth. This was also a reversal of the 2.9% growth in August 2024, and the sharpest decline in 14 months or since the 7.2% slump in June 2024.

Import value was the lowest in six months or since the $9.76 billion in February 2025

8-MONTH TRADE GAP