NEWSFLASH

---

PESO SLIDE REDUCED DEFICIT -- NEDA

Manila, Oct. 19, 1997 - The depreciation of the peso vis-a-vis the U.S. dollar is not all bad for the economy, says Socio-economic Planning Secretary Cielito Habito, who claims that the country's exports surged to $2.258-billion and narrowed the trade deficit by 5.6 percent.

Habito, who is also director of the National Economic and /development Authority (NEDA) said the narrowing of the trade gap is a positive effect of the peso's unofficial devaluation.

NEDA figures show that merchandise trade for the first 8 months grew by 16 percent, while exports continued to outpace imports as export earnings increased by 22.8 percent while imports only rose by 11.8 percent.

---