BSP reports foreign currency surplus of $248M

More dollars entered the Philippine economy than left it in July thanks to inflows from the central bank’s foreign currency operations as well as foreign investments in government bonds, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said on Monday (Aug. 19).

In a statement, the central bank said the overall position of the country’s balance of payments — the net tally for all the economy’s overseas transactions — posted a surplus of $248 million in July 2019.

This was a reversal from the $455 million balance of payments deficit in the same month last year.

A balance of payments surplus means the Philippine economy is earning more dollars than it is spending, whether for trade and services from abroad or in terms of investments in the financial markets. A surplus also supports the value of the peso against the US dollar./TSB