MANILA, Philippines –The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the country’s central bank, said on Friday that the country's balance of payments should reach a surplus of $2.0 billion by the end of the year, scaling it down from a previous estimate of $2.5 billion.

Governor Amando Tetangco told reporters that the surplus at the end of 2009 should be $2.3 billion.

He ascribed the downward revision to higher prices of oil, but said remittances from Filipinos working abroad would offset some of these effects.

The Philippines imports almost all its oil needs.