Gov’t debt repayments in June pushed more dollars out of PH, says BSP

More dollars left the Philippine economy in last month than entered it due to the national government’s debt repayments during the period, the central bank said on Friday.

In June 2024, the country's balance of payments (BOP) registered a deficit of $155 million, a significant improvement from the $606 million deficit recorded in June 2023, the Bangko Sentral said in a statement.

This deficit was primarily due to the government's repayments of foreign currency debt obligations.

Despite the monthly deficit, the cumulative BOP for January to June 2024 showed a surplus of $1.4 billion, down from $2.3 billion in the same period in 2023. 

This surplus was influenced by a narrower trade in goods deficit and sustained net inflows from personal remittances, trade in services, and various foreign investments.

The country’s dollar reserves increased slightly to $105.2 billion at the end of June 2024, providing a robust external liquidity buffer.

This level is sufficient to cover 7.7 months of imports and is multiple times the short-term external debt, the central bank said.