PH BOP position posts $270-M deficit in April

The country’s overall balance of payments (BOP) position in April 2018 posted a deficit of USD270 million, a very notable reversal from the USD917 million BOP surplus recorded in the same month last year. (Pixabay photo)

MANILA — The country’s overall balance of payments (BOP) position in April 2018 posted a deficit of USD270 million, a very notable reversal from the USD917 million BOP surplus recorded in the same month last year.

Outflows in April 2018 stemmed mainly from payments made by the National Government (NG) for its maturing foreign exchange obligations and foreign exchange operations of the BSP.

These were partially offset, however, by income from the BSP’s investments abroad and net foreign currency deposits of the NG during the month. For the period January-April 2018, the cumulative BOP position yielded a higher deficit of USD1.497 billion compared to the USD78 million BOP deficit recorded in the comparable period in 2017.

The higher cumulative BOP deficit for the first four months of the year may be attributed partly to the widening merchandise trade deficit (based on Philippine Statistics Authority data) for the first quarter of the year that was brought about by the sustained rise in imports to support domestic economic expansion.

The reported BOP position is consistent with the final GIR level of USD79.609 billion as of end-April 2018. At this level, the GIR represents more than ample liquidity buffer and is equivalent to 7.8 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. It is also equivalent to 5.4 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.0 times based on residual maturity.