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MANILA – Cash remittances from Filipinos abroad reached $ 2.747 billion in October, up 2.9 percent compared to the same month last year, Bangko Sentral said.
This brought total cash remittances from January to October to $ 24.633 billion, representing a slight decrease of 0.9 percent from the $ 24.858 billion recorded in the comparative period last year, the BSP said.
The central bank said the increase was due to growth in remittances from both land and sea workers.
“By country source, cash remittances from Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Germany, and Kuwait decreased, while those from the United States (US), Singapore, Qatar, Oman, Hong Kong and Taiwan increased, “said the BSP.
The United States recorded the largest share of total remittances at 40.2 percent, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Hong Kong, Qatar and Taiwan, the central bank added.
“Combined remittances from these countries represented 78.7 percent of total cash remittances.”
Meanwhile, personal remittances also increased 2.5 percent in October to $ 3.044 billion.
During the first ten months of 2020, personal remittances reached $ 27.346 billion, bringing the cumulative contraction to 1 percent in October from 1.4 percent in September 2020.
So far, remittances have defied bleak forecasts from both government agencies and multilateral lenders.
The Philippines is one of the largest recipients of remittances, driving domestic consumption and supporting the economy.
