Cash remittances up 2.9% in May

Money sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) rose in May compared to a year earlier, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed.

At $2.971 billion, personal remittances were 3.0 percent higher than the $2.884 billion recorded in the same month last year. It was slightly lower, however, compared to the $2.975 billion posted in April.

Growth, meanwhile, was also slower than the year-to-date high of 4.1 percent in April and the 3.7 percent seen in May last year.

The latest monthly count pushed the January-May remittances tally to $15.343 billion, up 3.0 percent from the $14.89 billion recorded in the same period last year.

In May alone, money sent home via banks totaled $2.658 billion, 2.9 percent more than the $2.583 billion posted a year earlier. Again, it was slightly lower than April’s $2.664 billion.

Source: Business World

Growth also slowed from 4.0 percent a month earlier and 3.6 percent in May 2024.

Year to date, cash remittances totaled $13.766 billion, up 3.0 percent from the $13.365 billion recorded in January-May last year.

The United States continued to account for the biggest share of overall remittances at 40.2 percent, followed by Singapore (7.4 percent), Saudi Arabia (6.4 percent), Japan (5.0 percent) and the United Kingdom (4.6 percent).

Rounding out the top 10 were the United Arab Emirates (4.2 percent), Canada (3.3 percent), Qatar (2.9 percent), South Korea (2.8 percent) and Taiwan (2.7 percent).

Remittance data by source has limitations, the BSP noted, with the US appearing to be the main origin, as remittance centers in cities abroad commonly course the money through correspondent banks that are mostly located in the US.

Asked to comment, Reyes Tacandong & Co. senior adviser Jonathan Ravelas said that 3.0-percent remittances growth could be sustained this year given continued demand for Filipino workers abroad.

Other markets, such as the European Union and Southeast Asian neighbors, should be pushed, however, he said, otherwise growth could slow to 2.70 percent.

OFW remittances totaled $38.341 billion last year, up 3.0 percent from $37.21 billion in 2023. Based on the latest balance of payments forecasts from the BSP, remittances for this year and the next year will likely be lower at $35.5 billion and $36.5 billion, respectively.

Source: Manila Times