Colombia: Exports fall at sharpest year-to-date pace in July
Exports sank 9.9% over the same month of the previous year in July, following the 8.7% year-on-year decline in June. July’s downturn was chiefly driven by a sizeable drop in exports of fuels and products of extractive industries. Overseas sales of farming, food and beverages products, and manufacturing goods rose modestly, however, cushioning the overall fall.
In June—the latest month for which data is available—imports slid 5.7% over the same month of the previous year, marking the first contraction in over a year. This contrasted the 6.1% year-on-year rise recorded in May, and was led by a fall in the purchases of agricultural produce and manufacturing products from abroad. Meanwhile, imports of fuels and products of extractive industries surged in the month.
Meanwhile, the trade deficit widened to USD 761 million in annual terms in June compared to a USD 716 million shortfall in the same month last year. That said, it was smaller than the USD 836 million deficit registered in May.