Algeria has swung into a trade deficit of $7.8bn for the first half of 2015, after recording a trade surplus of $3.2bn in the same period in 2014.

The deficit comes amid declining earnings from oil and gas, according to data that was released on 21 July.

Oil and gas exports dropped 43.7 per cent year-on-year to $18bn in the January-to-June period, according to the country’s customs authority.

Hydrocarbons account for more than 90 per cent of Algeria’s total exports.