Vietnam revises up Jan-Nov trade deficit to near $11 bln

Dec 20 (Reuters) - HANOI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Vietnam revised up its trade deficit for the first 11 months of this year to $10.97 billion from an earlier estimate of $10.66 billion.

Exports soared 25 percent in the January-November period from the same months last year to $64.53 billion while imports rose 20.7 percent to $75.5 billion, Vietnam Customs, which is part of the Finance Ministry, said in reports issued on Friday.

The trade deficit was $1.3 billion in November alone, slightly higher than the expected $1.25 billion that was reported by the government’s General Statistics Office at the end of that month, the reports said.

Vietnam’s trade deficit this year is expected to hit $12 billion, while next year’s gap may widen to $14 billion.

This year’s below-target trade gap may keep Vietnam’s balance of payment deficit at $2 billion, lower than an estimated $4 billion, the central bank has said.