The Philippines’ balance of payments (BOP) surplus rose to $11.786 billion as of end-November, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced Monday.
The BSP also reported the final gross international reserves (GIR) of $104.82 billion as of end-November.
The latest GIR was higher than the previous $103.8 billion. The current reserves level “represents an adequate external liquidity buffer, which can help cushion the domestic economy against external shocks,” said the BSP. “Specifically, it ensures availability of foreign exchange to meet BOP financing needs, such as for payment of imports and debt service, in extreme conditions when there are no export earnings or foreign loans,” it added.
The BSP’s full-year BOP surplus projection is $12.8 billion. In 2019, the surplus position was at $7.84 billion.
Based on BSP data, the end-November BOP surplus is higher than same time last year of $6.271 billion.
For the month of November, the BSP reported a BOP surplus of $1.473 billion which was lower than October’s $3.435 billion, but more than November 2019’s $541 million surplus.
The BOP continue to be in excess in November because of the BSP’s foreign exchange operations and income from its investments abroad. With these inflows, despite the government’s regular withdrawals of foreign currency from the BSP to pay for past loans, the BOP position remains strong.
“Based on preliminary data, the current BOP surplus was supported mainly by higher net foreign borrowings by the NG (National Government) and lower merchandise trade deficit along with sustained net inflows from personal remittances, foreign direct investments, and trade in services,” said the BSP.
Earlier this month the BSP revised its external account projections for this year and in 2021. The $12.8 billion BOP surplus projection is higher than its previous estimate of $8.1 billion (September projection) because of weak import demand as the economy slowly recovers from the pandemic-induced recession.
For next year, the BOP surplus projection is $3.3 billion with the resumption of more economic activity.
The 2020 GIR projection is $105 billion versus an earlier forecast of $100 billion. For next year, the BSP estimates a GIR of $106 billion. The GIR has increased by $17.2 billion so far from its end-2019 level of $87.8 billion, mainly because of the BSP's gold reserves revaluation.