Overall BOP posts $928m surplus in May

June 19, 2019

Overall balance of payments (BOP) position posted a surplus of $928 million in May, a reversal of the $583 million BOP deficit in the same month last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ( BSP) said Wednesday.

Inflows in May stemmed mainly from the national government's net foreign currency deposits, and the BSP's foreign exchange operations and income from its investments abroad.

These were offset partially by payments made by the national government for its foreign exchange obligations during the month in review, the BSP said. 

On a cumulative basis, the BOP position for January - May posted a surplus of $5.19 billion, a turnaround from the $2.08 billion BOP deficit.

The surplus may be attributed partly to remittance inflows from overseas Filipinos during the first four months of the year, and net inflows of foreign portfolio, foreign direct and other investments in the first quarter, the BSP said. 

The BOP position reflects the final gross international reserves (GIR) level of $85.36 billion as of end-May.

At this level, the GIR represents a more than ample liquidity buffer and is equivalent to 7.4 months' worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income, the BSP said.

It is also equivalent to 5.1 times the country's short-term external debt based on original maturity and 3.6 times based on residual maturity. DMS