THE country’s overall balance of payments (BOP) position yielded a surplus of US$1.27 billion in August 2018, a reversal from the US$7 million deficit recorded in the same month last year.

Inflows in August 2018 stemmed mainly from net foreign currency deposits of the national government (NG) and income from the BSP’s investments abroad during the month. These were partially offset, however, by the payments made by the NG for its foreign exchange obligations and foreign exchange operations of the BSP during the month in review.

Notwithstanding the surplus posted in August, the cumulative BOP position for January to August registered a deficit of US$2.44 billion, higher than the US$1.39 billion BOP deficit recorded in the comparable period in 2017.

The higher cumulative BOP deficit may be attributed partly to the widening merchandise trade deficit for the first seven months of the year that was brought about by the sustained rise in imports of raw materials and intermediate goods, as well as capital goods to support domestic economic expansion. PR