ForexPhilippine Exports Fall In July

(RTTNews) - Thursday, the National Statistics Office of the Philippines announced that merchandise exports declined at a faster annual rate in July compared to the previous month, as exports of electronic goods plummeted. July marked the tenth successive month of falling exports in the country.
Exports dropped 25.4% year-on-year in July compared to the 24.8% fall in June. Economists had expected exports to fall 20.8%. Total export revenue amounted to $3.31 billion in July, down from the $4.44 billion a year ago.
The decrease in revenue was mainly due to falling exports of electronic goods, which decreased 25.2% year-on-year, and was worth $1.92 billion, or 57.8% of the total revenue. Of this, exports of components/devices (semiconductors), which comprised 42.8% of total exports, declined 24.8% in July.
Exports of cathodes & sections of cathodes, of refined copper witnessed the biggest annual decrease, down 65.5% in July. Articles of apparel & clothing accessories exports slipped 26.4% on year in July, and exports of coconut oil was down 22.6%. Woodcrafts & furniture exports and exports of ignition wiring set & other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircrafts & ships was down 29.9% and 14.3%, respectively.
Analyzing by types of goods, revenue from exports of manufactured goods amounted to $2.82 billion in July, down 22.3% from the $3.63 billion a year ago. Revenue from total agro-based products declined 11% from the year-ago period in July. Revenue from special transactions and mineral products revenue declined 4.1% and 54.4%, respectively. Also, exports of petroleum products fell 86.6% in July, while revenue from forest products was up 47.3% on year.
Shipments to most major markets fell sharply in July. The U.S. was the biggest destination for Philippine exports, with 17.6% of total exports destined for the American market. Japan was the second largest, with a 16.6% share of total exports. The Netherlands, Hong Kong and China comprised the other major destination markets.
On a monthly basis, exports slid 2.8% in July compared to the 10.3% growth in the previous month.
Last week, the Statistics Office announced that consumer prices rose 0.1% year-on-year in August compared to 0.2% in the previous month. Consumer prices excluding volatile goods were up 2.9% in August.
The Philippine peso gained against the major currencies, following the release of the export data.