Algeria’s trade surplus shrinks in January 2008

Algeria's trade surplus slipped to 1.94 billion dollars in January, down 1.57 percent compared to the same month in 2007, official statistics showed this week.

 The country’s exports totalled 4.48 billion dollars, up 5.48 percent from January 2007, while imports were 2.54 billion dollars, a rise of 11.6 %, according to the National Centre for Information and Statistics.

It did not give a figure for the trade surplus in January 2007.

 Hydrocarbon exports, including oil and gas, made up 97.33 % of Algeria ’s overall exports.