The country's exports contracted for the fifth month in a row, by 1.8 percent in December 2019 to $27.36 billion, according to data released by the Commerce Ministry on Wednesday, 15 January.
Imports too declined by 8.83 percent to $38.61 billion, bringing down the trade deficit to $11.25 billion during the month under review.
The trade deficit during December 2018 was $14.49 billion.
Oil imports contracted by 0.83 percent to $10.69 billion, while gold imports dipped by about 4 percent to $2.46 billion.
During April-December 2019, exports slipped 1.96 percent to $239.29 billion, imports declined by 8.9 percent to $357.39 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $118.10 billion.
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