Philippine exports likely remained stable in December, imports to have decelerated further

Philippine December trade data is set to release tomorrow. The nation’s trade balance has deteriorated in the second half of 2018 as trade demand globally has been subdued, especially for electronics. According to a DBS Bank research report, exports are expected to have remained stable at 1.3 percent year-on-year in December, whereas imports are expected to have slowed down further due to lower oil prices.

As inflation decelerates, domestic demand might rebound and underpin consumer goods imports this year, while capital goods imports might be stubbornly solid in the midst of government’s continuous focus on infrastructure development, added DBS Bank.