The country\u2019s total external trade value of US$17.3 billion in May decreased by 5.1% year-on-year (YoY) vs US$18.2 billion in May 2022. The decline, however, came on the back of an 8.8% decline in import values to US$10.8 billion vs US$11.8 billion in May 2022 which allowed the country\u2019s trade deficit to narrow by 21% to US$4.4 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Total exports of US$6.4 billion grew by 1.9% YoY recovering from the 20.2% decline during the previous month. The growth in in May is the first time in 2023 for the Philippines to report a YoY growth in export sales. This was primarily driven by the 16% growth in semiconductor exports which accounted for 49% of total export sales. Wiring sets for Aircraft, ships and vehicles came in 2nd with a 50% YoY growth followed by Gold whose export value grew 69% YoY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the decline in imported goods in May 2023 came on the back of a 17.5% decline and 31.7% decline in the import values for semiconductors and mineral fuels, respectively. These 2 categories account for 28% of the goods imported by the Philippines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our View: <\/strong>A single data point does not make a trend, but we can cheer these small wins. The country\u2019s export value surprisingly rose especially in the context of the poor manufacturing data\/PMI we\u2019ve been seeing recently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Philippines will need to sustain this through the rest of the year to ease the pressure on the Philippine Peso and temper our imported inflation. We think foreigners just need a stable Philippine Peso, at the very least, to even consider the Philippine market for extra returns in the second half of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n