There was a recovery in trade activity in the Philippines in April with a 9% rise on a year earlier driven by a 22% surge in imports. Exports however fell by 9%, markedly worse than the 3% expected, due to a 25% drop in gold shipments (which are volatile) and 45% in factory equipment / transport. The latter have seen a longer-term decline and are one reason for the 31% slump in shipments to Japan. The bigger concern is a slowdown in shipments to China which fell 5% from a 1% rise year-to-date. That will likely worsen if America applies wide-ranging duties against Chinese exports as th...