Balance of payments gap narrows to $455M in July
The Philippines posted a narrower balance of payments (BoP) deficit in July with the shortfall the lowest in three months, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Monday.
July’s deficit of $455 million was significantly smaller than the $1.177 billion and $678 million recorded in June and a year earlier, respectively.
“Outflows in July 2018 stemmed mainly from payments made by the national government for its maturing foreign exchange obligations and foreign exchange operations of the BSP,” the central bank said in a statement.
These were partially offset by net foreign currency deposits of the government and income from Bangko Sentral investments abroad.
July’s result brought the seven-month payments balance to a $3.712-billion deficit, significantly wider than the $1.384 billion recorded in the same period last year and more than double the BSP’s full-year deficit forecast of $1.5 billion.
“The higher cumulative BoP deficit for the period may be attributed partly to the widening merchandise trade deficit (based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s preliminary data) for the first half of the year that was brought about by the sustained rise in imports of raw materials and capital goods to support domestic economic expansion,” the central bank noted.
The trade deficit widened by 62.6 percent in January-June to $19.105 billion, from $11.749 billion a year earlier, based on latest available data.
The Philippines ended 2017 with a BoP deficit of $863 million, narrower than the revised $1.038 billion posted in 2016.
The post Balance of payments gap narrows to $455M in July appeared first on The Manila Times Online.