Current account surplus up 36%

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s current account surplus widened last year on higher remittances from Filipinos abroad and robust revenues from the business process outsourcing sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported yesterday.

At a press briefing, Rosabel B. Guerrero, director for the BSP’s Department of Economic Statistics, said the country’s current account recorded a $9.4-billion surplus in 2013, up 35.6 percent from $6.9 billion in 2012.

The current account is the country’s broadest measure of trade, covering not only goods and services but also investment flows.

The expansion in the current account last year was supported by a 10.4-percent increase in the services account surplus to $6.8 billion on higher net receipts from BPO firms.

At the same time, Guerrero said the 7.3-percent growth in remittances of non-resident overseas Filipino workers to $19.3 billion contributed in the current account surplus expansion.

“The trade in goods deficit also registered a moderate improvement of 2.1 percent as the contraction in imports of goods outpaced that of exports of goods,” Guerrero said.

The current account surplus fell short of the BSP’s $11.1-billion assumption. This  resulted in a balance of payments surplus of $5.1 billion last year, lower than the $9.2 billion recorded in 2012.

Guerrero noted this was because the current account surplus was tempered by the financial account component which reversed to net outflows last year.

The financial account amounted to a net outflow of $635 million last year, a reversal of the previous year’s net inflow of $6.7 billion.

“Volatile capital flows during the year reflected sensitivity of financial markets to external developments,” Guerrero said.