Philippines July trade deficit hits record high USD 5.93 billion

MANILA, Sept 9 (Reuters) – The Philippines posted a record high trade deficit of USD 5.93 billion in July, as the value of imports increased at double-digit pace while exports contracted, government data showed on Friday.

Imports rose 21.5% from a year earlier to USD 12.1 billion, while exports fell 4.2% to USD 6.2 billion, the Philippine Statistics Authority said

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Martin Petty)