Money sent home by Filipino migrant workers continued to recover in June, pushing remittances growth higher than official government target in the first six months, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Tuesday.
Data from the Central Bank showed cash remittances to the country saw a 5.7-percent growth in June this year from its previous year’s volume, hitting $2.47 billion for the month alone.
The growth during the month was an acceleration from the 5.5-percent increase seen in the previous month and the 4.8-percent hike in June last year. It was also the third-fastest growth pace in the first half of the year, following March’s 10.7 percent and January’s 8.6 percent.
The higher remittances in June came as both land-based and sea-based workers sent more money back home during the month. Land-based workers sent $1.9 billion during the month, up 3.8 percent.
Sea-based workers, meanwhile, also posted a significant growth rate for the month, albeit coming from a lower base, at 13.3 percent to hit $500 million.
Remittances to the Philippines helped fuel domestic consumption—one of the pillars of the economy’s resilient growth in recent years. Cash sent by Filipino workers abroad also provide support to the country’s external position.
The BSP said the continued increase in remittances in June was supported by stable demand for skilled Filipino workers abroad, citing data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, which indicated a 50-percent hike in the number of Filipino workers deployed in the first half of the year.
The development in June brought the total remittance level of the Philippines to $13.81 billion in the first six months of the year, growing by 4.7 percent from the same six-month period last year.
The government set its projection of remittance growth for the year at 4 percent, to hit $28 billion by 2017’s end.
The BSP said 80 percent of the total cash remittances in the first half of the year came from the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Kuwait, Germany and Hong Kong.
The BSP earlier said it is banking on strong remittance inflows, as well as tourist receipts and business-process outsourcing revenues, to drive the recovery of the country’s balance-of-payments position for the year.