MANILA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' overall balance of payments (BOP) posted a surplus of 1.2 billion U.S. dollars in March 2024, slightly lower than the 1.3-billion-dollar BOP surplus recorded a year ago, the country's central bank said Friday.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the BOP surplus in March reflected inflows arising mainly from the national government's net foreign currency deposits with the BSP and net income from the BSP's investments abroad.
The BOP position also reflects an increase in the final gross international reserves level to 104.1 billion dollars as of end-March 2024 from 102 billion dollars as of end-February 2024, the BSP added.
The BOP surplus in March 2024 brought the current year-to-date BOP level to a surplus of 238 million dollars, lower than the 3.5-billion-dollar surplus recorded in January-March 2023, the BSP said.
Based on preliminary data, the cumulative BOP surplus reflected mainly the improvement in trade balance alongside the net inflows from personal remittances, net foreign borrowings by the national government, foreign direct investments, and foreign portfolio investments, the central bank added. ■
