The continuous remittance inflow from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is expected to play a crucial role in the perceived economic growth during the second quarter of the year, economists claim.
A poll conducted by Business Mirror among economists showed that economists expect 6.8-percent economic growth from April to June this year. Official second-quarter GDP data is expected to be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on August 9.
As of May, OFW remittances totalled to $11.822 billion, a 4.2 percent increase from the recorded $11.346 billion worth of OFW remittances during the same period last year. By the end of the year, the total amount of OFW remittances is expected to hit a record-high of $28.06 billion.
Several economists noted that inflows from OFWs are factors in this economic growth.
Moody’s Analytics, Inc. noted that remittances from OFWs paired with “healthy” consumer spending helped boost the country’s GDP in the second quarter of the year.
Meanwhile, Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) market economist Guian Angelo S. Dumalagan said that “remittances from overseas Filipinos picked up, helping temper the negative impact of rising prices.”
Earlier, BSP reported that the countries where most cash remittances come from are the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Singapore, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Qatar and Kuwait.
