Trade gap widens

The visible trade gap in August increased by €8.3 million to €102.8 million over the same period last year, according to provisional data for international trade released by the National Statistics Office.

During the same month, imports dropped by €16.9 million while exports slipped by €25.2 million when compared to August last year.

The decrease in imports was due to fuels and lubricants and consumer goods, while that in exports was due to machinery and transport equipment, miscellaneous manufactured articles, food and semi-manufactured goods.