Balance Of Payments Deficit Revealed

The country’s overall balance of payments (BOP) position posted a deficit of US$639 million in April 2024, higher than the US$148 million BOP deficit recorded in April 2023.

The BOP deficit in April 2024 brought the current year-to-date BOP level to a US$401 million deficit.

The BOP deficit in April 2024 reflected outflows arising mainly from the National Government’s (NG) net foreign currency withdrawals from its deposits with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to settle foreign currency debt obligations and pay for various expenditures.

The BOP deficit in April 2024 brought the current year-to-date BOP level to a US$401 million deficit, a reversal from the US$3.3 billion surplus recorded in January-April 2023.

Based on preliminary data, this cumulative BOP deficit mainly reflected the NG’s repayments of foreign loans coupled with the continued trade in goods deficit.

The BOP position reflects a decrease in the final gross international reserves (GIR) level to US$102.6 billion as of end-April 2024, down from US$104.1 billion as of end-March 2024.

The latest GIR level represents a more than adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.6 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. Moreover, it is also about 5.8 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 3.6 times based on residual maturity.