PHL POSTS DECADE-HIGH $12.8-B BOP SURPLUS IN ‘20 BICAM PANEL FINALLY OKS CREATE FINAL FORM

PHL POSTS DECADE-HIGH $12.8-B BOP SURPLUS IN ‘20 BICAM PANEL FINALLY OKS CREATE FINAL FORM

In a scene that reminds one of the popular children’s ditty, ‘Spaghetti pababa’ (noodles moving downward) linemen retire old electrical cables along Sitio Lipana, Barangay Pandayan, Inarawan in Antipolo City at the weekend. With summer approaching, a surge in electricity consumption is expected due to rising temperatures, and the Manila Electic Company (Meralco) says a typical household’s electricity consumption goes up by around 30 percent from January to June.

Bernard Testa

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

THE country’s transactions with the rest of the world last year registered a dollar surplus of US$12.8 billion, the highest since 2010. It was also the exact revised projection in December by the Central Bank.

Citing preliminary data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Finance Undersecretary and Chief Economist Gil Beltran said the country’s overall Balance of Payments (BOP) surplus last year was the highest since the country recorded a US$15.24- billion surplus in 2010.

“The country generated a BOP surplus of US$12.8B in 2020, helped by slower imports and outward payments,” Beltran said in an economic bulletin.

The country’s 2020 BOP surplus, which he said was the highest in recent history, was equivalent to 3.5 percent of GDP.

In 2019, the country posted a BOP surplus of US$7.84 billion.

While the BSP has yet to release the December BOP data this week, the Central Bank back in December revised upward its BOP surplus projection to US$12.8 billion for 2020, up from its previous forecast of US$8.1 billion in September.

Peso stable

APART from the country’s strong BOP position, Beltran also attributed the Philippine peso’s “continued strength and stability” to rising Gross International reserves (GIr).

Moreover, he said the peso remained as one of the most stable Asian currencies in 2020, despite rising risks in the global economy, including the Covid-19 pandemic.

“During the year, the peso appreciated by 5.18 percent relative to the US dollar, in the middle of the pack of nine Asian currencies including the Taiwan dollar, Chinese yuan, Korean won and Japanese yen which appreciated by 6.33 percent, 6.26 percent, 6.07 percent and 4.94 percent, respectively,” Beltran said.