PH BoP Enters First Month of Surplus in 2021 Reaching $2.61 Billion in April

The Philippines’ Balance of Payments (BoP) has gone over the surplus mark of $2 billion in April, which overturned the previous month’s deficit. This was primarily bolstered by the country’s bond issuances and marks the first month of the BoP entering surplus territory for 2021.

On Wednesday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that the country’s BoP surplus reached $2.61 billion in April. This translates to a  growth of 57% from the surplus in April 2020 at $1.67 billion.

The BoP determines the level of earnings or expenses of the Philippines with its global transactions, making it an important economic gauge. A surplus essentially means that the country’s dollar earnings prevailed over its expenses during the period.

During the first three months of 2021, the country’s BoP was in deficit with the largest being incurred in February at $2.02 billion.

“The BOP surplus in April 2021 was attributed to inflows arising mainly from the proceeds of the national government ROP Global and Samurai bond issuances, which were deposited to the BSP,” explained the Central Bank.

The PH Government’s sale of 3-year zero-coupon Samurai bonds allowed it to raise ₱24.2 billion in end-March. In mid-April, ₱122.4 billion was raised from the country’s first triple-tranche euro-denominated bond offering.

Source: Business Mirror