RAMALLAH, March 21, 2017 (WAFA) – The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) Tuesday released its ‘External Trade in Goods’ report for January 2017, revealing that exports and imports have decreased compared to December 2016.

PCBS said exports decreased in January 2017 by 6% compared to December 2016, whereas it increased by 27% compared to January 2016 and reached $79 million.

Meanwhile, exports to Israel decreased during January 2017 by 7% compared to the previous month, representing 88% of total exports for January 2017.

PCBS said exports to other countries increased by 2% during the same period compared to the previous month.

The report said imports decreased in January 2017 by 8% compared to December 2016. It increased by 14% compared to January 2016, reaching $422 million.

Imports from Israel decreased by 25% during the same period compared to the previous month, and represented 47% of total imports in January 2017. Meanwhile, imports from other countries increased by 16% during the same period.

The trade balance, which represents the difference between exports and imports, showed a decrease in trade deficit by 8% in January 2017 compared to the previous month, while it increased by 11% compared to January 2016, reaching $343 million.

T.R.