Remittances reached near $2 billion

According to the Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis, Inc. (IDEA) latest NewsBriefs, personal remittances was at USD1.994 billion in February, near the USD2 billion mark set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. This brings total personal remittances for the first two months to USD4.0 billion, 6.4 percent higher than the USD3.755 billion recorded in the same period last year.

This improvement was supported by a 4.3-percent increase in transfer from land-based workers with long-term contracts and a 10.3-percent increase in transfers from land-based workers with short-term contracts.

Per IDEA, cash remittances coursed through banks amounted to USD1.8 billion, recorded a 5.6-percent annual growth. This brings total cash remittances for the first two months to USD3.6 billion, up 5.8 percent from the USD3.4 billion recorded in the same period last year.

The BSP identified the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, and Canada as the main sources of remittances in the country.

Aside increased transfers from overseas workers, the BSP also attributed the increase in remittance to higher demand for Filipino workers.

According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration total job orders for the first two months of the year was at 75,064. A big portion of this include labor demand for service, production, and professional, technical and similar categories.

Likewise according to the same published report, budget deficit in February was at P9.718 billion lower by 17 percent from the P11.749 billion recorded in the same period last year. The Bureau of Treasury attributed this to revenue growth outpacing expenditure growth.

While the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs missed their February targets, revenues increased by 7 percent to PhP269.108 billion due to increase the said agencies’ collections.

Furthermore, monetary officials expect the country’s growth to remain robust in the first quarter of the year.

This was backed up by positive figures on indicators of demand, which include vehicle sales, energy sales, and manufacturing output. In addition the Purchasing Managers’ Index, which signals the health of new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries, and employment, also posted positive figures.

Also, officials from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas   assured the people that the Philippine economy can withstand tightening monetary policy.

Monetary authorities pointed out to the strong macro-economic fundamentals of the country, especially its robust growth and low inflation, as enough to support the impact of a tighter policy. This will allow the government and the BSP to establish timely policies. Specifically, tightening seems to be an option due to the decision of the Federal Reserve to reduce its bond-buying program.

Lastly, a report from the Bureau of Labor Employment and Statistics revealed that employment in Metro Manila increased by 3.22 percent in the last quarter of 2013. This posted the highest turnover rate since the last quarter of 2010, according to the researches of IDEA.

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