Colombia posted a trade deficit in August as an increase in imports, driven by purchases of foreign cars, outpaced sales abroad.
The country posted an $111.6 million trade deficit in August, the government’s statistics institute, known as DANE, said Wednesday. The country registered a $1.78 billion trade surplus for the first eight months of the year, DANE said.
Colombian imports climbed 42% in August from a year earlier to $3.6 billion, with vehicle purchases abroad surging 43.8%, DANE said.
Imports in the first eight months of 2010 are up 19%, to $25.3 billion, as an economic recovery this year and the appreciation of the peso are boosting consumption and purchases abroad. (Darcy Crowe / Dow Jones Newswires)