DESPITE narrowing slightly in April, the country’s trade deficit may widen in the second half of the year, the Philippine National Bank (PNB) said on Thursday.

In its “Macro Alert” report, the listed Tan-led lender said its “extrapolation of the monthly trade data continues to show a worsening trade deficit outlook later in 2H19 (second half of 2019), peaking at roughly $4 billion [a] month that coincides with the fiscal spending ‘catch-up’ and its likely lift to broad-based demand.”