Manila: Remittances from overseas Filipino workers slowed in April as compared to March but grew at a faster pace year-on-year, according to the latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data.
Personal remittances—representing overseas Filipinos’ earnings, personal transfers in cash or in kind, and capital transfers between households—grew by 3.8 percent to $2.443 billion, lower than the $2.606-billion posted in March, but higher than the $2.353 billion posted in April 2015, Manila Times reported.
Cash remittances—money sent through banks—also dipped marginally in April, growing 4.1 percent in April to $2.213 billion, lower than the month-earlier total of $2.362 billion, but higher than the $2.126 billion in April 2015.
For the first four months of 2016, personal remittances were up 3 percent to $9.577 billion, the central bank reported, adding that the growth rate was faster than the 2.7 percent rate recorded in March for the first quarter.
Funds coursed through banks for the January to April period also saw growth rising to 3.1 percent to $8.670 billion, said the news portal.
The United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Kuwait and Germany reportedly remained the major sources of cash remittances.
“The sustained demand for overseas Filipino continued to provide support to the growth of remittance inflows,” the Philippine central bank reportedly said.
The central bank cited preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) showing that 777,887 contracts were processed by end-April 2016.
In 2015, remittances rose to a record high of $28.483 billion. This year, the central bank is projecting a 4.0 percent growth in remittances.
According to Singaporean bank DBS, if the current pace continues, total remittances are likely to hit $27 billion for the full-year, which would be close to a 5 percent increase from last year.
“This is important on several fronts,” it reportedly said.
In particular, the bank noted that with the agriculture sector still under stress, remittance flows are crucial to prop up household spending in the rural areas, according to Manila Times.
