The Philippines recorded a $3.7 billion balance of payments (BOP) surplus in the third quarter 2024, reversing the $524 million deficit during the same period last year. This was driven by net inflows from foreign funds buying local equities and debt, despite a wider trade deficit.
The balance of payments represents the total transactions of the the country with the rest of the world for a given period. A surplus means the Philippines earned more dollars than it spent, while a deficit means the economy spent more than it earned during the period.
- Wider current account deficit: The current account deficit widened to $5.7 billion (-5.2% of gross domestic product) in the third quarter of 2024, a 154.4 percent increase from the third quarter of 2023, due to a larger trade-in-goods gap and lower net receipts from services and primary income.
- Financial account inflows surge: The financial account posted $10.5 billion in net inflows, up from $2 billion in the third quarter of 2023, largely due to reversals in portfolio investments and increased inflows from direct and other investments.
- January–September 2024 overview: Year-to-date, the BOP surplus reached $5.1 billion, significantly higher than the $1.7 billion surplus in the same period of 2023, mainly driven by increased financial account inflows.
- Dollar reserves and peso performance: Gross international reserves stood at $112.7 billion as of end-September 2024, higher than $98.1 billion in 2023. The peso P57.25 to the US dollar in the third quarter 2024, appreciating 1 percent from the previous quarter but depreciating 2.3 percent year-on-year.
