TUNIS - Tunisia's trade deficit widened in December 2017 to 15.592 billion Tunisian dinars ($6.25 billion), a record level, the State Statistics Institute said on Thursday.

The growing deficit is one of the main problems facing the government of Prime Minister Youssef Chahed.

The deficit was 12.6 billion dinar in December 2016. ($1 = 2.4931 Tunisian dinars)

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Alison Williams) ((tarek.amara@thomsonreuters.com;))