MANILA — The Philippines reported a balance of payments (BOP) deficit of $155 million for June, showing a reduction from last year's figures, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
According to Philippines News Agency, the June 2024 deficit marks a significant decrease from the $606 million deficit recorded in June 2023. The BSP attributed the deficit primarily to the National Government's payments on foreign currency debt obligations. The balance of payments summarizes a country's economic transactions with the rest of the world over a specific period and can manifest as a surplus, a deficit, or a balance.
For the first six months of 2024, the BSP noted a BOP surplus of $1.4 billion, though this was lower than the $2.3 billion surplus from the same period in 2023. This year's cumulative surplus reflects a narrowing trade deficit in goods, coupled with continued inflows from personal remittances, service trades, foreign direct investments, and government and private foreign borrowings.
Additional data from the Philippine Statistics Authority indicated that the trade deficit from January to May 2024 was $20.6 billion, a decrease from $23.7 billion in the corresponding period of 2023. Meanwhile, the BSP reported that the gross international reserves (GIR) increased slightly to $105.2 billion by the end of June 2024 from $105.0 billion at the end of May. The current GIR level is considered a robust external liquidity buffer, equivalent to approximately 7.7 months of imports of goods and services and primary income payments, and it is roughly six times the country's short-term external debt on original maturity and 3.8 times based on residual maturity.