Algeria energy earnings drop 41 pct in 2015, posts $13.71 bln trade deficit: finance minister

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria's energy earnings dropped 40.8 percent in 2015 from the previous year, causing a trade deficit of $13.71 billion after a $4.306 billion surplus in 2014, the Finance Ministry said. Energy earnings reached $35.72 billion in 2015 against $60.3 billion the previous year, because of the sharp fall in global crude oil prices, according to figures released by the ministry and published by state media on Tuesday. (Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Patrick Markey)