Remittances rebound in September

Remittances from overseas Filipinos rebounded in September after the decline recorded in the previous month, with a seasonal increase expected in the last quarter of the year, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Wednesday showed.

Data released by the central bank showed that cash remittances or money transfers through banks or formal channels stood at $2.913 billion in September, up from $2.796 billion in August, and 2.6% higher than the $2.840 billion the same month last year.

Year-to-date cash remittances were recorded at $24.494 billion, up by 2.8% from $23.825 billion in the first nine months of 2022.

“The growth in cash remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the first three quarters of 2023,” the BSP said in an accompanying statement.

In terms of sources, the United States was the biggest in the first nine months of the year with 41.5%, followed by Singapore with 6.9%, Saudi Arabia with 6.0%, Japan with 5.0%, and the United Kingdom with 4.8%.

They were followed by the United Arab Emirates with 4.1%, Canada with 3.6%, Qatar with 2.8%, Taiwan with 2.7%, South Korea with 2.5%, while other countries accounted for the remaining 20.1%.

Meanwhile, personal remittances — the sum of transfers sent in cash or in-kind via informal channels — stood at $3.229 billion, 2.6% higher than the $3.148 billion recorded in September 2022.

Year-to-date personal remittances were recorded at $27.242 billion, reflecting a 2.9% increase from the $26.491 billion in the past year.

According to Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort, inflows are expected to grow further in the last three months of the year.

“It is important to note that OFW (overseas Filipino workers) remittances and conversion to pesos could seasonally increase/accelerate in 4Q especially during the Christmas holiday season towards the end of the year, a consistent pattern seen for many years/decades and could seasonally support the peso exchange rate as well,” he said in an emailed commentary.

The Philippine peso closed Wednesday at P55.825:$1, 23.5 centavos stronger than its finish of P56.06:$1 on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News