Jan.-Feb. payments surplus widens to $1.47B, says BSP

The country’s balance of payments (BOP) surplus widened to $1.47 billion in January-February this year, from the $1.11 billion recorded in the same period last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported Friday. This means the Philippine economy made more foreign exchange earnings than it spent during the first two months of the year. In February alone, the country’s BOP posted a deficit of $133 million, wider than the $125-million deficit in the same month last year. “The February deficit of $133 million was due largely to payments of maturing foreign exchange obligations by the national government," the central bank said in a statement. Last January, the country’s BOP registered a surplus of $1.606 billion, after the national government successfully sold $1.25 billion worth of peso-denominated bonds to global investors. Central bank data showed that the country’s BOP surplus widened to a record $14.4 billion last year, higher than the original projection of $3.2 billion or $6.2 billion more than the revised $8.2-billion forecast. Monetary authorities believe that a payments surplus should persist this year, BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco said. “We continue to be watchful of developments to see if there is any need to refine our foreign-exchange regulatory environment further or if any adjustments to other policy levels need to be made," he said last month. — JE, GMA News