Cash remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) coursed through banks booked its slowest growth in three months at 1.8 percent in May on the back of the continued strengthening of the US dollar against other currencies including the peso.
Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed the increase was the slowest in three months of since cash remittances grew by 1.3 percent in February.
Cash remittances reached $2.42 billion in May from $2.38 billion in the same month last year
“The expansion in cash remittances in May 2022 was due to the growth in receipts from land-based and sea-based workers,” the central bank said.
Cash remittances from land-based OFWs increased by 1.9 percent to $1.93 billion from $1.89 billion, while the amount of money sent home by sea-based OFWs inched up by 1.3 percent to $494 million from $488 million.
According to the BSP, cash remittances also increased by 2.5 percent to $12.59 billion from January to May compared to $12.28 billion in the same period last year.
In terms of country source, the central bank said the growth in cash remittances from the US, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Qatar, and Singapore contributed largely to the increase in remittances in the first five months of the year.
Likewise, personal remittances went up by two percent to $2.7 billion in May from $2.65 billion in the same month last year. This was also the slowest in three months of since the 1.2 percent increase recorded in February.
The increase was attributed to 1.9 percent rise in remittances sent by land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more to $2.1 billion from $2.06 billion as well as the 1.4 percent increase in the amount of money sent by sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year to $540 million from $532 million.
From January to May this year, personal remittances rose by 2.5 percent to $14.02 billion from $13.68 billion in the same period last year.
The central bank expects remittances to grow by four percent to new record levels this year after rising by 5.1 percent last year as countries around the world hosting OFWs continue to reopen from strict COVID-19 lockdowns.
