By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Senior ReporterTHE PHILIPPINES’ trade deficit in goods ballooned to $4.94 billion in June as exports and imports posted double-digit growth, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said. Month on month, the trade gap narrowed from the $6.1-billion deficit posted in May. June saw the smallest trade gap in four months or since the $4.01-billion gap in February. In the first half of the year, the trade-in-goods deficit ballooned by 25.85% by $30.81 billion from $24.48 billion last year. For the January—June period, imports jumped by 17.84% to $77.53 billion from $65.79 billion.