October balance of payments surplus drops

MANILA, Philippines—The country’s balance of payments (BOP) registered a $208-million surplus in October, down by 92 percent from $2.736 billion in the same month last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has reported.

The BOP surplus in the first 10 months of the year, however, was still up year on year. It stood at $9.929 billion, up by 8 percent from $9.179 billion in the same period last year.

BOP is the difference between the inflows and outflows of dollars and other foreign currencies to and from the country. A surplus means the inflows exceeded the outflows.

The BSP said the surplus in the first 10 months was driven largely by remittances, foreign portfolio investments, and foreign nvestments in the country’s business process outsourcing sector.

The year-on-year decline in October alone was blamed on risk aversion among foreign portfolio investors during the month. The risk aversion was brought about by the debt crisis in the euro zone that has dampened their outlook on the global economy, officials said.