Jordan's trade deficit widened 34.2 per cent to JD3.24 billion ($4.56 billion) in the first quarter of this year against the same period in 2011, due to a higher bill for imported Saudi oil and other petroleum products, official data showed on Wednesday.

Imports rose 19.5 per cent in January-April from a year earlier to 5.064 billion while exports fell a slight 0.1 per cent to JD1.825 billion in the same period compared with the previous year, data from the Department of Statistics showed. – Reuters