Algeria energy earnings up

Algeria’s energy earnings rose 19.6 percent in the first three months of this year from the same period in 2017, cutting the trade deficit by 83.6 percent, official figures showed on Sunday. Oil and gas exports, which accounted for 93.6 percent of total sales abroad, reached $10.03 billion, up from $8.38 billion in the first three months of 2017.

The overall value of exports stood at $10.71 billion, against $8.93 billion in the fisrt quarter of 2017, while imports declined 6 percent to $11.2 billion. Fuel was among the main products imported in the first quarter of 2018, with the bill going up by 31.4 percent to $481 million.