Ecuador posts July trade surplus of $171 mln

Sep 7, 2007 - Ecuador posted a trade surplus of $171 million in July compared with a surplus of $70.9 million in the same month last year, the central bank said on Friday.

Petroleum exports, the Andean country's leading source of revenue, rose to $874.7 million in July compared with $643.9 million a year earlier, the central bank said.

Overall exports in July totaled $1.2 billion, compared with $1.04 billion in July 2006. Imports in July rose to $1.12 billion from $970.9 million a year ago.

In the January-July period, petroleum exports fell to $4.16 billion compared with $4.49 billion in the same period a year earlier.

The petroleum exports were a key factor affecting the country's overall balance of trade, which in the January-July period was a surplus of $341.4 million compared with a surplus of $1.15 billion in the same period a year earlier.