HANOI: Vietnam posted a trade deficit of $582 million in September, slightly below an initial government estimate of a deficit of $600 million, Vietnam Customs said on Wednesday.

In August, Vietnam posted a trade surplus of $1.07 billion, according to official data.

Exports in September dropped 4.8 percent from August to total $12.634 billion, while imports rose 8.3 percent from the previous month to $13.216 billion, the Finance Ministry-run Customs Department said on its website .

Earlier this month. The trade ministry said it expected Vietnam to show a trade surplus of $1.5 billion this year, far surpassing its forecast of $500 million in July.

Copyright Reuters, 2014