MANILA - The Philippines booked a $3.25 billion trade deficit in October, lower by 26.4 percent compared to the same month a year ago, the state statistics bureau said on Tuesday.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said that based on preliminary data, the country's total external trade also shrank 6.7 percent during the month as exports remained almost flat while imports fell.
Exports hit $6.32 billion in October, which was higher by just 0.1 percent compared to the same month in 2018, the PSA said.
Imports meanwhile reached $9.57 billion, lower by 10.8 percent compared to October last year.
The United States remained the biggest market for Philippine exports, accounting for $1.07 billion or 17 percent of total exports.
China was still the biggest source of imports for the country, accounting for $2.08 billion in shipments or 21.8 percent of the Philippines' imports bill.
Imports of raw materials and intermediate goods went down by 19.3 percent, in October 2018 to USD3.42 billion in October 2019.