|
THE
country’s balance of payments (BOP) had a surplus of
$432 million in March as a result of higher remittances
from overseas Filipino workers and increasing
merchandise exports. The March BOP brings the surplus to
$1.7 billion for the first quarter.
“Among
the factors behind the $1.7-billion BOP surplus in the
first quarter of 2008 were continued foreign-exchange
inflows from remittances by overseas Filipinos,
merchandise exports, foreign direct investments and
investment income of the BSP,” said Bangko Sentral
Governor Amando Tetangco Jr.
The BOP
is what is left after all expenses, like imports, are
deducted from total income, such as from exports, among
others. It is one indicator of where the economy is
generally headed and the strength of the local currency.
In 2007
the full-year surplus was $8.57 billion, an all-time
high.
This
year, however, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas projects
only $3.3 billion to $3.5 billion because of the
downturn in the world economy, especially in one of the
country’s largest markets, the United States.The BOP
consistently ended with a surplus since 2005, and in the
last eight years had a surplus in five of them, data
from the BSP show. |
