Mauritius trade deficit narrows 29.4 pct yr/yr in February

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Higher exports helped narrow Mauritius's trade deficit by 29.4 percent in February, to 3.29 billion rupees ($109.67 million), official data showed on Tuesday. The overall value of exports rose 12.8 percent to 7.4 billion rupees, Statistics Mauritius said in a statement. Revenues from sales of manufactured goods increased to 711 million rupees from 522 million rupees a year earlier. Imports fell 4.7 percent to 10.7 billion rupees, partly because the cost of mineral fuels and lubricants declined. Britain was the main buyer of goods from Mauritius in February, accounting for 15.4 percent, while India supplied 25.9 percent of the island nation's imports. ($1 = 30.0000 Mauritius Rupees)