By: Reuters

Uganda's earnings from merchandise exports surged 45% in March from the same month a year earlier, helped by an increase in shipments of gold, the finance ministry said in a report released late on Thursday.

Here are some details from the report:

• The East African country exported goods worth $1.44 billion in March, up from $993 million last year.
• Bullion shipments more than doubled to $851 million.
• "This was largely due to higher global gold prices. There has been upward pressure on global gold prices as gold is perceived as a safe haven in an increasingly uncertain global environment that has seen Central Banks diversify their reserve assets," the report said.
• Uganda has in recent years emerged as a major regional gold processing and trading hub, taking in $5.8 billion from bullion exports, up 75.8% from the previous period, according to the central bank.

(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)