The inflow of remittance from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) could sustain the peso value per US dollar at P51 for the rest of the year, a recent study by a global financial institution said.
ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said the increase in remittances in July helped recover the country’s current account “after two consecutive quarters of deficits.”
Cuyegkeng said remittance alone could post a faster growth in the third quarter compared to the two-percent expansion in the second quarter of the year.
“The start of the third quarter looks promising. July OFW remittances were up 7.1 percent year-on-year,” Cuyegkeng said. “Seasonally, strong inflows during the Christmas season together with expectations of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s significant market influence underpin our P51 forecast for year-end.”
Latest data from BSP showed that OFWs sent home $2.283 billion in July, a 7.1-percent increase from the same month in 2016.
The primary source of cash remittances are the United States (3.3 percent), the UAE (1.1 percent), Singapore (0.8 percent), and Japan (0.6 percent).
As of posting time, the peso-dollar exchange rate is at P51.05:$1.
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