Philippines records widest BoP surplus in 15 months

The Philippines recorded a balance of payments (BoP) surplus of $1.666 billion in April 2020, the widest since January 2019.

This surplus was driven by government loans secured to address the coronavirus crisis and higher inflows from foreign exchange operations and investments abroad.

However, these inflows were partially offset by foreign currency withdrawals for debt obligations.

The cumulative BoP position for January to April stood at a $1.6 billion surplus, reversing the previous quarter's deficit.

Portfolio investment outflows and lower direct investments contributed to this development, but were mitigated by a reduced trade deficit and higher remittances from overseas Filipinos.