Vietnam trade deficit swells in January
(VOV) - Vietnam racked up a US$500 million trade deficit in January on the back of a 91% on-year surge in steel imports for the month.
According to Ministry of Industry and Trade, overall the nation’s imports spiked 35.5% on-year to US$13.4 billion in January topped off by a jump in steel exports to a record 1.1 million tonnes.
Other key imports included automobiles, oil, fertilizer, electronics, computers and machinery and equipment.
Meanwhile the nation's cumulative exports for the month jumped 9.7% on-year tallying in at US$12.9 billion, consisting principally of mobile phones and spare parts, pepper, rice, electronics and computers.