End-July BOP swings to $5.8-billion deficit

From a surplus last year, the Philippines' balance of payments (BOP) position swung aggressively to a deficit in the first seven months of the year, which was evident even in July alone.

- BY DERCO ROSAL

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that the BOP, which reflects the country’s transactions with the rest of the world, shifted to a deficit of $5.8 billion in the January to July period from a surplus of $1.5 billion in the same period last year.

The year-to-date BOP deficit was "largely due to the continued trade-in-goods deficit," the central bank reported on Tuesday, Aug. 19.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the goods trade deficit for the first semester of the year narrowed by 4.4 percent to $24 billion from $25.1 billion in the same period a year ago.