JORDAN'S TRADE DEFICIT WIDENED 31 PER CENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2006 TO 1.191 BILLION DINARS (1.68 BILLION DOLLARS), THE GOVERNMENT SAID MONDAY ACCORDING TO DPA. ECONOMISTS ATTRIBUTED THE EXPANDING TRADE GAP IN PART TO A HIGHER BILL FOR OIL IMPORTS DUE TO RISING PRICES, WHICH HELPED BOOST THE VALUE OF IMPORTS BY 23 PER CENT TO 1.98 BILLION DINARS IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THE YEAR. JORDAN'S EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 12 PER CENT DURING THE PERIOD, TO 789 MILLION DINARS FROM 704 MILLION DINARS IN THE SAME PERIOD OF 2005, THE STATISTICS DEPARTMENT DATA SAID. -
