DESPITE concern over rising consumer prices in the country, more Filipino households—except those in Metro Manila—were able to set aside money for savings in the second quarter of the year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
In a quarterly survey to gauge local consumer sentiment, the BSP found that the percentage of households with savings rose to 37.4 percent in the second quarter of the year, compared to the 36.6 percent in the previous quarter.
This is despite the faster rise of consumer prices during the period. In the first quarter of 2018, in particular, inflation averaged at 3.8 percent. For the months of April and May, however, inflation hit an average of 4.5 percent.
The BSP said the rise in savings was particularly noted in households outside the National Capital Region (NCR), with the percentage rising to 37 percent, from the 35.2 percent in the previous quarter’s survey.
Fewer households living in the NCR, however, were able to save during the period, with the savings rate dropping to 40.2 percent, from the 44.8 percent in the previous quarter.
The BSP said emergencies, education, health and hospitalization, retirement, purchase of real estate and business capital and investments were among the top reasons Filipino households were eager to save money during the period. Among those with savings, only 61 percent had bank deposit accounts, while 47.8 percent had savings kept at home. Some 34.3 percent of household savers, meanwhile, put their money in cooperatives, paluwagan and other credit or loan associations.
Households’ savings outlook for the third quarter of the year was also upbeat, despite their expectations of a continued rise in inflation, depreciation of the peso and higher unemployment rates.
In particular, the BSP said the percentage of respondents who reported that they could set aside money for savings during the quarter rose to 43.3 percent, from the 41.8 percent in the previous survey.