Tunisia's trade deficit rises to record $5.86 billion

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's trade deficit widened by 21 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2018 to 17.32 billion dinars ($5.86 billion), a record level, the State Statistics Institute said on Tuesday.

The deficit was 14.3 billion dinars in the same period last year. It widened after imports rose by 20 percent to 54.4 billion dinars.

The deficit is one of the main problems facing the government of Prime Minister Youssef Chahed as it grapples with an economic crisis.

It has contributed to a slide in Tunisia's foreign currency reserves, which are now enough to pay for only 79 days of imports.

Praised for its successful democratic transition after a 2011 uprising, Tunisia has struggled with tough economic reforms to reduce public spending agreed with its international lenders.

($1 = 2.9575 Tunisian dinars)

(Reporting by Tarek Amara, editing by Ed Osmond)