More Filipino households save money sent by relatives working overseas for future expenses, but a lesser number of them invest the remittance, a quarterly survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.
Rosabel Guerrero, director of the BSP’s Department of Economic Statistics (DES), said the second quarter version of the Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) showed that “OFW households that utilize remittances for savings continued to increase”.
The percentage of households with savings rose to 45.9 per cent from 36.9 per cent in the previous quarter, the Philippine Star reported.
Guerrero said 97 per cent of the 434 households that participated in the survey use remittances to purchase foods and other household needs, while 68 per cent allotted part of the remittances for the education.
The survey showed 60.8 per cent of the OFW households use part of remittances for medical expenses, 43.1 per cent to pay debts, and 25.3 per cent to buy consumer durables.
On the other hand, only 16.4 and 7.4 per cent of the surveyed families allocate money to buy a house or a private vehicle, respectively.
Guerrero added the number of households that use remittances for investments decreased to 4.4 per cent in the second quarter from the 6.2 per cent in the previous period.
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