Trade deficit in Nov falls to 2-year low–PSA By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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THE WORLD ›› A13
CALIFORNIANS WARNED TO FLEE, HEAD TO HIGH GROUND AS FLOODWATERS RISE
HE country’s trade deficit in November 2022 declined to its lowest level in two years, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The latest PSA data released on Tuesday indicated that the trade deficit declined 21.9 percent in November 2022, t he lowest since the 41.3 percent
recorded in November 2020. Exports grew 13.2 percent in November 2022, the second consecutive month of double-digit growth while imports contracted 1.9 percent, also the lowest since November 2020. “The balance of trade in goods [BoT-G] is the difference between the value of export and import. The BoT-G in November 2022 amounted to $3.68 billion, indicating a trade deficit with an annual decrease of 21.9 percent,” PSA said.
“The trade deficit in the previous month recorded an annual decline of 13.4 percent, while in November 2021, it posted an annual increase of 119.7 percent,” it added. In January to November 2022, the PSA data showed the country’s trade deficit reached $53.69 billion. This was 44.7 percent higher than the deficit of $37.11 billion in January to November 2021. The value of the country’s total exports reached $7.1 billion
in November 2022, 13.2 percent higher than the $6.27 billion posted in November 2021. Export earnings in January to November reached $73.169 billion, 7 percent higher than the previous year’s $68.37 billion. Of the top 10 major commodity groups, 5 recorded annual increases in terms of value, including other mineral products, which jumped by 51 percent. See “PSA,” A2
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Wednesday, January 11, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 88
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SC: AIM OF 2005 JMSU IS TO DISCOVER PETROLEUM
‘Exploration deal unconstitutional’ By Joel R. San Juan
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@jrsanjuan1573
HE Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday declared as unconstitutional the tripartite agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) entered into by the Philippine government with China and Vietnam during the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2005. Under the JMSU, which expired in 2008, the Philippines, China and Vietnam through their respective national oil corporations agreed to conduct joint explorations of the disputed South China Sea covering 142,886 square kilometers (agreement area). However, up to 80 percent of the JMSU site is within the Philippines’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone, prompting the filing of petitions seeking to declare the agreement as unconstitutional.
Voting 12-2-1, the Court en banc ruled that the JMSU is unconstitutional for allowing wholly-owned foreign corporations to participate in the exploration of the country’s natural resources without observing the safeguards provided in Section 2, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution. The said provision mandates that the exploration, development, and utilization (EDU) of natural See “JMSU,” A2
BSP: Higher interest rates to keep inflation in check
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HE Ba ngko Sent ra l ng Pilipinas (BSP) intends to continue raising interest rates as a precautionary measure against the second round effects of inflation. In a briefing on Tuesday, BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said inflation is still expected to be within target by the third quarter of the year and will be closer to 2 percent rather than 3 percent by late 2023 or early 2024. Based on the recent charts he reviewed, Medalla said inflation expectations are building up and that sectors that have very little
inputs, such as services, have become expensive. “Those are signs that inflationary pressures are broadening, and we’re getting to the point where second-order inflation is beginning to be a concern. Until that is addressed, we cannot say ‘ hindi puwedeng mag-rate hike,’” Medalla told reporters in an interview following a press briefing in Mandaluyong City on Tuesday. Medalla said raising interest rates by another 25 or 50 basis points would serve as “insurance”
IN an effort to help farmers and consumers, Rice Up and Community Pantry Ph are buying white onions directly from farmers of Pangasinan in what they call a “solidarity purchase.” The two groups bought the white onions from farmers at P375 per kilo and sold them for P400 per kilo to customers at Claret School in Quezon City. The current market price of the cooking ingredient stands at P550 per kilo. The Philippines will import more than 21,000 tons of onions to boost domestic supply as surging prices helped push inflation to a 14-year high. NONOY LACZA
GOVT BANKS ON IMPORTS TO TEMPER ONION PRICES By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas
& Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
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HE Department of Agriculture (DA) greenlit the importation of 21,060 metric tons (MT) of fresh yellow and red onions to temper the commodity’s retail prices, which have skyrocketed to more than P700 per kilogram in recent weeks. Senior Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban issued a memorandum authorizing the issuance of
sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) for the importation of fresh yellow and red onions. The memorandum was addressed to all Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) licensed onion importers and was dated January 6. In the memorandum, Panganiban said the importation program will be implemented “to address the supply gap prior to peak harvest in 2023 and to stabilize the continuous increase in the price of fresh See “Onion,” A2
See “BSP,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.1640 n JAPAN 0.4183 n UK 67.2284 n HK 7.0692 n CHINA 8.1447 n SINGAPORE 41.4673 n AUSTRALIA 38.1238 n EU 59.2020 n KOREA 0.0445 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.6877 Source:
BSP (10 January 2023)