CASH remittances grew for the second straight month in July due to the increase in land-based workers’ remittances, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Tuesday.
Cash remittances coursed through banks rose by 7.8 percent to $2.783 billion in July 2020 compared to $2.581 billion in the same month last year, the BSP said in a statement.
The 12.6-percent increase in land-based workers remittances were slightly tempered by the 9.2 percent decrease in sea-based workers’ remittances, it said.
For the first seven months of the year, cash remittances declined by 2.4 percent from 4.2 percent in June, the central bank said.
Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos also rose 7.6 percent to $3.085 billion in July from $2.867 billion in the same month last year, the BSP said.
Total remittances for the first seven months reached $18.658 billion or 2.4 percent lower than $19.119 percent billion posted in the comparable period last year, the central bank said.
Remittances for January to July 2020 from the United States, Japan, Singapore, Qatar and Taiwan were among the countries that registered continued growth while Saudi Arabia, UAE, Germany, Kuwait and the UK declined, the BSP said.
The BSP earlier said remittances could contract by as much as five percent this year.(ABS-CBN)
