Trade surplus widens in February, statistics show

Illustration photo

February’s export turnover was estimated at US$7.5 billion, equivalent to 65.3% of the previous month. Meanwhile, import value decreased by 38.3% to US$6.6 billion.

The week-long Lunar New Year holiday, during which most factories are closed, fell on February this year in stead of January in 2012.

Last year, the country gained an annual trade surplus for the first time in two decades as the slowest economic growth curbed import demand.

According to Mr. Matt Hildebrandt, a Singapore-based economist at JPMorgan Chase&Co told Bloomberg on Monday that “the improving trend reflects structural changes in the economy, as all of the foreign companies’ imports in recent years are now boosting export capacity.”

He went on to say that part of the improvement also reflects softer import demand, due to subpar growth.

The trade surplus in 2012 also allowed the State Bank of Viet Nam to maintain the stability of the dong, which traded at 20,835 per dollar as of 2:38 p.m. in Ha Noi, compared with 20,885 on February 22./.

By Huong Giang