Personal remittances record high in Dec '18

Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) registered a new record high of US$3.2 billion in December 2018, higher by 3.6 percent compared to the level posted in the same month last year, BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. announced Friday.

Further, personal remittances, which grew by 3.0 percent year-on-year, reached US$32.2 billion in 2018, the highest annual level to date.

The growth in personal remittances during the year was driven by remittance inflows from land-based OFs with work contracts of one year or more and remittances from both sea-based and land-based OFs with work contracts of less than one year, which rose annually by 2.8 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.

Personal remittances is a major driver of domestic consumption and, in 2018, it accounted for 9.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 8.1 percent of the gross national income (GNI). Similarly, cash remittances in December 2018 grew markedly by 3.9 percent year-on-year to reach an all-time high of US$2.8 billion.

The countries that contributed most to the increase during the month were the United States (US) and Canada.

Full year cash remittances registered a 3.1 percent growth to reach US$28.9 billion. The growth in cash remittances was supported by the transfers from both land-based and sea-based OFWs, which grew by 2.8 percent and 4.6 percent from last year’s levels, respectively. Cash remittances in 2018 remained strong amid political uncertainties across the globe.