Meanwhile, trade also delivered some better-than-expected results. Specifically, PMI rose to 51.2 points in February compared to 47.4 points in January this year.
HSBC experts assessed that the country has been on the frontlines of suffering due to the economic slowdown in the United States, who has long remained the nation’s largest exporting destination. That said, the only exception was phones and related parts, which recorded an annual growth of almost 8%.
On a positive side, imports fell at a pace faster than exports, at 16.1% on-year. This has led to a trade surplus of US$2.3 billion, a much needed boost amid the country recovering from two years of deficit. However, electronics imports continued to fall, with phones particularly slumping over 60% on-year./.
