By the staff
The country’s balance of payments (BOP) returned to a surplus in October, supported by stronger dollar inflows and weaker import demand that eased pressure on the trade deficit.
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed a $706 million surplus for the month, swinging from a $724 million deficit a year earlier and marking the largest surplus since February’s $3.1 billion.
For the January–October period, the BOP remained in deficit at $4.61 billion, though the central bank said the gap has narrowed as foreign exchange inflows stabilize and external accounts improve.
The BOP tracks the country’s economic transactions with the rest of the world.
A surplus indicates that inflows from exports, remittances, business process outsourcing and tourism exceeded outflows such as imports and external payments.
The improvement in the external position coincided with higher gross international reserves, which rose to $110.2 billion at end-October, enough to cover 7.4 months of imports and 3.8 times the country’s short-term external debt, the BSP said.
The BSP expects a $6.9 billion BOP deficit this year, equivalent to 1.4% of GDP, narrowing to $3.4 billion or 0.6% of GDP in 2026.
