Colombia: Exports plunge again in June
Merchandise exports shrank 26.4% annually in June as the coronavirus pandemic continued to dent overseas demand. The decline was driven chiefly by plunging fuels and extractive industry exports, along with a sizable drop in manufacturing shipments. That said, June’s contraction was an improvement from May’s 40.3% plunge and April’s 52.3% nosedive, which had marked the worst result on record.
Meanwhile, in May—the latest month for which data is available—merchandise imports plummeted 40.8% in annual terms, the worst result on record (April: -32.7% yoy). As a result, the merchandise trade deficit narrowed to USD 0.5 billion in May from USD 0.8 billion in May 2019. Lastly, the trend improved, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 11.1 billion deficit in May, compared to the USD 11.5 billion deficit tallied in April.