Remittances reached a six-month high in June

Through Luisa Maria Jacinta C. JocsonReporter
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Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) rose to a six-month high in June, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said late Thursday.

Central bank data shows remittances rose 2.5% to $2.88 billion in June, compared with $2.81 billion in the same month a year ago.

This was the highest level of remittances since $3.28 billion in December 2023.

However, annual growth in remittances declined from 3.6% a month earlier.

Month on month, remittances rose 11.6% from $2.58 billion in May.

“The increase in remittances in June 2024 was due to the growth in receipts of agricultural and maritime workers,” the BSP said.

Remittances sent by land-based workers rose 2.5% to $2.35 billion in June, while money sent by offshore workers rose 2.1% to $535.6 million.

Meanwhile, personal remittances rose 2.5% to $3.21 billion, up from $3.13 billion a year earlier.

“The increase in the number of personal remittances in June 2024 was due to higher remittances by agricultural workers with employment contracts of one year or more and maritime and agricultural workers with employment contracts of less than one year,” the central bank said. .

Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc., said the increase in remittances in June may be due to the weaker peso, which made it “attractive for OFWs to exchange their hard-earned money ‘.

The peso traded mostly at the P58 level per dollar in June, averaging P58.6963 for the month, based on central bank data.

Mr Asuncion added that OFWs were likely sending more money home for their families’ education-related expenses.

“The latest month-on-month increase came after a seasonal increase in remittances to finance some holiday-related expenses during the school holidays, amid better weather conditions and some early-stage tuition and other school opening-related expenses that would can persist. until early August,” said Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. also.

TRANSFER OF THE FIRST HALF

In the January-June period, remittances rose 2.9% year-on-year from $15.8 billion to $16.25 billion.

The BSP expects remittances to grow 3% this year.

The United States accounted for almost half, or 40.9%, of total remittances in the first semester. This was followed by Singapore (6.9%), Saudi Arabia (6%), Japan (5%) and the United Kingdom (5%).

Other sources of remittances included the United Arab Emirates (4.1%), Canada (3.4%), Qatar (2.9%), Korea (2.8%) and Taiwan (2.7%).

Meanwhile, personal remittances rose 2.9% to $18.1 billion in the first half, compared with $17.6 billion in the same period a year ago.

“Modest growth in OFW remittances could continue in the coming months as OFW families continue to face relatively higher prices locally, requiring more remittances to be sent,” Mr Ricafort said.