Bop surplus narrows to $82 million in Sept.

THE PHILIPPINES' balance of payments (BOP) surplus sharply narrowed year on year in September, the central bank reported on Monday.

- Katherine K. Chan

The country's BoP position was at a $82-million surplus in September, shrinking from the $3.526-billion surfeit in the same month a year ago, preliminary Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed.

This was also narrower than the $359-million surplus seen in August and marked the second straight month that the Philippine external position yielded a surfeit.

"The BoP surplus reflected the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' net income from its investments abroad and National Government's (NG) net foreign currency deposits with the BSP," the central bank said in a statement.

BoP refers to the country's economic transactions with other nations. A surplus indicates more funds entered the country, while a deficit shows that the country spent more than it received.

Last month's surplus helped narrow the country's end-September BoP deficit to $5.315 billion. However, this was a reversal from the $5.117-billion surplus posted in the same period last year.

"Preliminary data indicate that the year-to-date BoP deficit was largely due to the continued trade in goods deficit," the BSP said.