Health News and Scoops

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Tuesday said the country posted a stronger balance of payments (BOP) surplus of $3.49 billion at the end of the first quarter on sustained external inflows.

For the month of March alone, BOP was a surplus of $2.02 billion, reversing February’s small deficit of $133 million, and higher than January’s BOP excess of $1.6 billion.

The end-of-the-quarter surplus was more than same period last year of $1.28 billion.

Last year the BOP surplus closed at $14.4 billion, almost $8 billion or 124 percent higher compared to end-2009’s $6.42 billion. In 2008 because of the US-led global economic slowing and recession, the BOP surplus was only $89 million from 2007’s $8.55 billion.

The BOP’s composed of foreign direct investments and foreign portfolio investments or hot money.

BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said in February that BOP surplus projections had been revised higher to a range of $6 billion to $8 billion this year, from a previous $2 billion forecast announced last November. The BSP updates BOP projections twice a year.

BOP projections were revised higher to reflect current domestic and global growth projections and its impact on trade and capital flows.

Article source: Read More

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