13 hours ago
2
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Keisha Ta-Asan - The Philippine Star
July 19, 2025 | 12:00am
A teller displays US dollars at a money exchange market in Nairobi on November 20, 2023.
Simon Maina / AFP
MANILA, Philippines — The country’s balance of payments (BOP) swung to a surplus of $226 million in June, a turnaround from the $155 million deficit recorded in the same month last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.
“The BOP surplus reflected the foreign currency deposits by the national government with the central bank and income from BSP investments,” the central bank said.
The BOP summarizes the country’s economic transactions with the rest of the world. A surplus indicates that more money came in through exports, investments and remittances than went out for imports and debt payments.
The improved external payments position helped trim the cumulative BOP deficit for the first half to $5.6 billion, slightly lower than the $5.8 billion shortfall posted from January to May.
However, the BOP deficit in the first half was still a reversal of the $1.44 billion surplus recorded in the same period a year ago.
“Preliminary data indicate that the year-to-date BOP deficit was largely due to the continued trade in goods deficit,” the BSP said.
Based on the local statistics agency’s international merchandise trade statistics, the Philippines’ trade deficit stood at $19.7 billion as of May, down from the $20.7 billion deficit posted a year prior.
“This decline was partly offset, however, by the sustained net inflows from personal remittances from overseas Filipinos, foreign borrowings by the national government and foreign portfolio investments,” the BSP said.
The improving BOP position was also reflected in the country’s gross international reserves (GIR), which inched up by 0.8 percent to $106 billion as of end-June from $105.2 billion the previous month.
The current GIR level provides a healthy external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.2 months’ worth of imports and payments for services and primary income. It is also enough to cover 3.4 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.
A strong GIR position supports the country’s ability to meet external obligations, stabilize the peso as well as cushion the economy from global financial shocks. The reserves are composed of foreign currencies, gold and other foreign assets held by the BSP.
The BSP expects the BOP shortfall to hit $6.3 billion in 2025, a reversal from the $600 billion surplus in 2024 amid continued current account shortfall and moderating financial flows. The deficit is projected to narrow down to $2.8 billion next year.
Meanwhile, the central bank sees the country’s GIR at $104 billion this year and $105 billion in 2026.
