MONEY sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the first seven months of the year grew by three percent to US$21.53 billion from $20.91 billion recorded in the same period last year.
In July alone, remittances rose by 3.2 percent to $3.43 billion from $3.32 billion registered in July last year.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas attributed the increase to higher remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year.
Of the personal remittances, cash remittances, which were coursed through banks, reached $3.08 billion in July this year, higher by 3.1 percent than the $2.99 billion posted in the same period last year. The expansion in cash remittances in July 2024 was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers.
On a year-to-date basis, cash remittances grew by 2.9 percent to $19.33 billion from $18.79 billion registered in January-July last year.
The growth in cash remittances from the United States (US), Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in January-July this year.
Meanwhile, in terms of country sources, the US also posted the highest share of overall remittances in the first seven months of the yeat followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia. / KOC