PERSONAL remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) reached $2.7 billion in May 2018, 6.1 percent higher than the level posted a year ago.

On a cumulative basis, personal remittances for the first five months of the year grew by 4.4 percent year-on-year to reach $13.2 billion, BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. announced on Monday.

Personal remittances during the period was driven by steady inflows from land-based OF workers with work contracts of one year or more, which totaled to $10.2 billion, and compensation of sea-based workers and land-based workers with short-term contracts, which reached $2.7 billion.

Similarly, cash remittances from OFs coursed through banks rose by 6.9 percent year-on-year to $2.5 billion in May 2018. In particular, cash remittances sent by land-based workers ($1.9 billion) and sea-based workers ($0.5 billion) grew by 5.3 percent and 13.2 percent, respectively.

Of the 6.9 percent growth in May 2018, 2.6, 1.6 and 1.3 percentage points were contributed by the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK) and Singapore, respectively, the main drivers of the growth in cash remittances.

On a year-to-date basis, cash remittances registered a 4.2 percent increase to reach $11.8 billion. Cash remittances coming from the US, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates (UAE), UK, Japan, Qatar, Hong Kong, Germany and Kuwait accounted for about 78 percent of total cash remittances. (PR)