THE country’s balance of payments position (BOP) registered a higher deficit of US$1.9 billion in the third quarter of 2018, compared to the $662 million deficit recorded in the same quarter a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported.
This development was primarily due to the deficit in the current account, which was a result of the continued widening of the trade-in-goods deficit and the lower net receipts of services and secondary income.
The current account registered a deficit of $2.9 billion in the third quarter, a reversal from a $1.1-billion surplus posted in the same quarter last year. This development stemmed mainly from the widening deficit in the trade-in-goods account. Lower net receipts in the trade-in-services and secondary income accounts also contributed to the current account deficit, which were partly offset by the higher net receipts in the primary income account during the quarter.
The increase in the primary income account tempered the rise in the current account deficit. The sustained expansion in imports of goods was driven by the strong growth of domestic economic activity propelled by the government’s big infrastructure projects. PR