COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's trade deficit in June widened 51.9 percent to $689.2 million from $453.7 million a year earlier, central bank data showed on Friday.

Exports for the month were $944.1 million, down 4.2 percent from a year earlier. Imports rose 13.5 percent to $1.63 billion.

The trade deficit for the first half of 2015 widened 15.6 percent to $4.09 billion. Sri Lanka's balance of payments showed a $791.7 million deficit for the first six months of this year, compared with a $1.95 billion surplus in the same period last year.

Copyright Reuters, 2015