Remittances grew 3% in March, hit $2.97B

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MANILA  -Personal remittances sent to the Philippines by Filipinos abroad increased by 3 percent to $2.97 billion in March from $2.89 billion in the same month last year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Preliminary data at the BSP show that March inflows exceeded the previous month’s volume after decreasing for two straight months or since the $3.49 billion recorded in December 2022, which was also the last year’s highest.

The growth rate also picked up again in March after sliding down for three consecutive months from 5.8 percent last November to 2.4 percent in February. Of the amount received in March, 90 percent represented cash that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) sent through banks.

This was pegged at $2.67 billion, an increase of 3 percent from $2.59 billion in the same month last year.

Also, the latest cash readout was better than the 2.3-percent growth recorded in March 2022.

The BSP said that transfers from both land-based and sea-based OFWs increased in March.

Results for March brought the first-quarter inflows to $8.9 billion, which was likewise higher by 3 percent than the $8.65 billion in the same three months last year.

Cash remittances alone also grew by 3 percent to $8 billion in January-March from $7.77 billion in the similar period of 2022.

The BSP said the growth in cash transfers from the United States, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates contributed mainly to the increase in headline numbers in the first quarter of 2023. INQ

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