Vietnam estimated on Monday its trade deficit in the first half of the year more than doubled to $4.78 billion from a year earlier, due largely to a surge in imports for the construction of state projects.
In June alone the deficit was estimated at $950 million, the General Statistics Office said.
In the first six months of 2006 the deficit stood at $1.88 billion.
The trade report showed imports of machinery, mainly for big government projects including Vietnam's first $2.5 billion refinery and new power plants, soared 46.5 percent in the January-June period from a year earlier to $4.4 billion.
The imports of steel and steel ingots in the first six months were also estimated to jump 60.9 percent from a year earlier to $3.3 billion on the back of robust demand from the construction sector.
The trade gap expected in the first half surpassed the Trade Ministry's full-year target of $4.66 billion.
Source: Reuters
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