This higher deficit resulted from the national government's foreign currency withdrawals to settle foreign debt obligations and fund various expenditures, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in a statement Monday evening.
The year-to-date BOP level stands at a $401 million deficit, reversing from a $3.3-billion surplus in the same period last year.
This means the whole Philippine economy has so far spent more dollars that it has earned since the start of the year.
The final level of dollar reserves decreased to $102.6 billion at the end of April 2024, providing a sufficient external liquidity buffer for 7.6 months of imports.
