Philippine import bill up 0.5% in Novemper

Philippine import bill in November 2013 inched up by 0.5 percent on year to 5.23 billion U.S. dollars despite a decline in the purchase of electronic products, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said Friday. NSO said payment for other commodities such as transport equipment, iron and steel, and telecommunication equipment boosted Philippine imports during the period. Mineral fuels and lubricants were the top imported commodity in November, accounting for 23.4 percent. Payment for this commodity, however, declined by 3.5 percent on year to 1.22 billion U.S. dollars. Electronic products, which were the country's top imported commodity in previous months, ranked second with a 22-percent share. The value of electronic products brought from abroad declined by 8.7 percent on year to 1.15 billion U.S. dollars in November. NSO said payment for transport equipment jumped by 52.8 percent on year to 685.2 million U.S. dollars. Transport equipment accounted for 13.1 percent of the value of purchases from abroad. Most of the country's imports were sourced from China, the United States and South Korea. NSO said total import bill for January to November went down by 0.7 percent on year to 56.41 billion U.S. dollars. The Philippines posted a trade deficit of 944 million U.S. dollars in November 2013. Trade deficit a year ago reached 1.59 billion U.S. dollars.