ALGIERS: Algeria’s energy earnings rose 19 percent in the first nine months of 2017, helping to reduce the country’s trade deficit by 38 percent from a year earlier, but imports remained high despite restrictions, official figures showed on Monday. The deficit fall pushed up the coverage of imports by exports to 76 percent, from 62 percent in the January-September period of 2016, according to customs data. Oil and gas exports, which accounted for 94.66 percent of sales abroad, reached $24.41 billion in the first three quarters of 2017 against $20.52 billion in the same period last year. The value of overall exports rose 18.2 percent year-on-year to $25.79 billion, while imports declined by 2.9 percent to $33.92 billion, the data showed.
Algeria’s state finances have been hit badly since oil prices started falling three years ago, forcing the government to take measures to cut spending, including import restrictions. Authorities have announced plans to cut the import bill by $15 billion this year from $46 billion in 2016.
