PH posted $1.3-B balance of payments surplus in March

MANILA  -Net borrowings helped beef up the surplus in the Philippines’ balance of payments by 72 percent to $1.3 billion in March from $754 million in the same month last year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

In February, the country incurred a BOP deficit of $895 million, or six times the $157-million deficit posted in the same month in 2022.

https://business.inquirer.net/392280/bop-deficit-swelled-to-895m-in-feb

The BSP said the March readout brought the first-quarter BOP to a surplus of $3.5 billion, which was seven times as big as the $495-million surplus in the same period of 2022.

In a statement, the BSP said the January-March BOP surplus was due to inflows of personal remittances, net foreign borrowings by the national government, and the regulator’s foreign direct investments.

Also, the country’s gross international reserves increased to $101.5 billion in March from $98.2 billion at the end of February.