BUSINESS Fed keeps US interest rates unchanged BSP to maintain monetary policy but watch markets BOP surplus stood at $1.58 billion, current account at $4.7B in August

The country’s balance of payments (BOP) is a surplus of $1.58 billion as of end-August despite a $450-million gap for the tallied month.

Based on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data, the BOP deficit of $450 million for the month of August is the third monthly deficit on record for 2015 and the highest during the period.

The BSP also reported that for the first six months, current account surplus stood at $4.7 billion which is equivalent to 3.3 percent of gross domestic product.

The current account surplus is higher compared to $3.9 billion the same time in 2014. The BSP explained that the 20.1 percent expansion in the current account surplus was due to the “robust” net receipts from trade-in-services, and primary and secondary income.

Data showed that for the JanuaryJune period, while trade-in-goods deficit widened by 6.3 percent the net receipts in the trade-in-services account grew by 76 percent to $1.1 billion in the first half of 2015.

This is from the “combined effects of higher net receipts in other business services, particularly technical, traderelated and other business services (by 4.6 percent), and computer services (by 5.5 percent) and lower net payments for travel, transport, financial services,” said te BSP.