Balance Of Payments Surplus Hits $88 Million

The country’s overall balance of payments (BOP) position posted a surplus of US$88 million in August 2024, a reversal from the US$57 million BOP deficit recorded in August 2023.

The BOP position also reflects an increase in the final gross international reserves (GIR) level to US$107.9 billion as of end-August 2024.

The BOP surplus in August 2024 reflected inflows, mainly from the net income generated from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) investments abroad.

Meanwhile, the BOP surplus in August 2024 brought the year-to-date BOP level to a surplus of US$1.6 billion, lower than the US$2.1 billion surplus recorded from January to August 2023.

Based on preliminary data, this cumulative BOP surplus primarily reflected the narrowing trade in goods deficit, alongside continued net inflows from personal remittances, trade in services, net foreign direct investments, net foreign borrowings by the National Government (NG), and net foreign portfolio investments.

The BOP position also reflects an increase in the final gross international reserves (GIR) level to US$107.9 billion as of end-August 2024, up from US$106.7 billion as of end-July 2024.

The latest GIR level represents a more-than-adequate external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.8 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments for services and primary income.

Moreover, it is approximately 6.0 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 3.8 times based on residual maturity.