Personal remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) increased by 3.2 percent in July as more workers abroad sent more money to their loved ones in the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Monday, September 16.
Data from the BSP showed that the personal remittances from OFWs increased year-on-year to $3.43 billion in July 2024 from $3.32 billion registered during the same month last year.
Year-to-date, the remittances expanded by 3.0 percent to $21.53 billion from $20.91 billion recorded in January to July 2023.
“The increase in personal remittances in July 2024 was due to higher remittances from 1) land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and 2) sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year,” BSP said in an accompanying statement.
The major reasons for the rise in remittances from January to July 2024 were more cash sent from the United States (U.S.), Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Additionally, the U.S. sent the most money back to other countries between January and July 2024, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
In an emailed commentary, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the latest month-on-month increase came after some seasonal increase in remittances and conversion to pesos to partly finance some holiday-related spending during the school vacation season and school opening-related expenses.
“Nevertheless, the continued and consistent growth in OFW remittances could be attributed to higher prices/inflation locally that required the sending of more OFW remittances back to the country,” Ricafort said.
The economist likewise mentioned that the continued growth in remittances is a good signal for the overall economy as an important growth driver, especially in terms of consumer spending, as remittances continued to grow year-on-year for all months since January 2021, despite the pandemic. (TCSP)
