Philippines trade deficit at $3.5 billion in August

The Philippines posted a trade deficit of $3.5 billion for August, the lowest in six months, preliminary official data showed on Tuesday.

Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the country’s trade-in-goods balance — the difference between exports and imports — narrowed to a $3.54 billion gap in August from the $4.40-billion deficit in the same month last year.

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

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

Imports in August fell by 4.9% from a year earlier to $10.6 billion, a reversal of the 2.9% growth in August 2024.

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

Year to date, the trade deficit narrowed to $32.38 billion, from the $34.33-billion deficit a year ago.

The country’s trade balance has been in deficit for over a decade or since
the $64.95-million surplus recorded in May 2015. — Lourdes O. Pilar