XN000022-1980-05-23 — Page 7

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FRIDAY, MAY 23, 1980

THE SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT THE FACT THAT THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+ HAS CEASED TO NARROW FURTHER SINCE THE END OF 1979 IS CONSISTENT WITH THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY'S BUDGET SPEECH FORECAST OF A SLIGHTLY LARGER VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+ FOR 1980 AS A WHOLE COMPARED WITH 1979.

THE FOLLOWING ARE COMPARATIVE TRADE FIGURES:

LATEST 3 MONTHS

FED-APRIL

1980

FEB-APRIL

1979

INCREASE OR

DECREASE

$ M

$ M

$ M

DOMESTIC EXPORTS

14 100

10 432

+ 3 669

+ 35.2

RE-EXPORTS

6 290

4 467

+ 1 824

+ 40.8

TOTAL EXPORTS

20 391

14 898

+ 5 493

+ 36.9

IMPORTS

25 616

19 276

+ 6 340

+ 32.9

TRADE BALANCE

5 225

- 4 378

847

SAME MONTH LAST YEAR

APRIL 1980

APRIL 1979

INCREASE OR

DECREASE

$ M

$ M

DOMESTIC EXPORTS

(% OF TOTAL EXPORTS)

5 389 (70.1%)

4 154 (72.4%)

$ M

+ 1 234 + 29.7

96

RE-EXPORTS

2 302

1 586

716

+ 45.1

TOTAL EXPORTS

7 690

5 740

+ 1 950

+ 34.0

IMPORTS

9 537

7 114

+ 2 423

+ 34.1

TRADE BALANCE

-

1 847

- 1 374

473

LAST MONTH

APRIL 1980

MARCH 1980

INCREASE OR

DECREASE

M

$ M

$ M

9%

DOMESTIC EXPORTS

(% OF TOTAL EXPORTS)

5 389 (70.1%)

4 585 (67.6%)

804 + 17.5

RE-EXPORTS

2 302

2 202

100

4.5

TOTAL EXPORTS

7 690

6 787

904

• 13.3

IMPORTS

9 537

8 959

578

6.4

TRADE BALANCE

- 1 847

-

2 172

325

/CALENDAR YEAR