THE Philippine balance of payments (BOP) position swung to a surplus in February following the deficit recorded in the first month of the year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported Wednesday.
Data released by the central bank showed that the BOP position registered an $839-million surplus in February. This compares with the $1.355-billion deficit in January 2020, and the $467-million surplus in February 2019.
The BOP consists of Philippine transactions with the rest of the world during a specific period. A surplus means more funds entered the country, while a deficit means more funds went out.
“The BOP surplus in February 2020 reflected mainly the inflows arising from the National Government’s foreign currency deposits with the BSP, and BSP’s foreign exchange operations as well as income from investments abroad,” the central bank said in an accompanying statement.
“These inflows were partially offset, however, by the payments made by the National Government for servicing its foreign currency debt obligations during the month in review,” it added.
The latest figure brought the year-to-date BOP position to a $516-million deficit, narrower than the $1.355-billion deficit in January.
“The deficit may be attributed partly to merchandise trade deficit and net outflows of foreign portfolio investments based on the latest available data,” said the BSP.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) earlier reported the trade gap at $1.66 billion in February.
According to the BSP, the BOP position reflects the final gross international reserves (GIR) level of $88.19 billion as of end-February, equivalent to a 7.8 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.
It is also equivalent to 5.1 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity, and 3.7 times based on residual maturity.(GMA News)
