Remittances dip to 11-month low in April 2025
Funds sent in by overseas Filipinos fell to an 11-month low in April, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday showed.
Cash remittances or money transfers through banks or formal channels were recorded at $2.664 billion in April, up 4.0% from $2.562 billion the same month last year, but lower than the $2.810 billion in March.
This is also the lowest in 11 months since the $2.583 billion cash remittances recorded in May 2024.
Inflows from land-based workers stood at $2.08 billion, while sea-based workers accounted for the remaining $0.58 million.
This brought the year-to-date cash remittances to $11.107 billion, reflecting a 3.0% increase from $10.782 billion in the comparable period of 2024.
The biggest source of inflows for the four-month period was the United States with 40.4%, followed by Singapore with 7.3%, Saudi Arabia with 6.3%, Japan with 5.0%, and the United Kingdom with 4.5%.
They were followed by the United Arab Emirates with 4.5%, Canada with 5.2%, Qatar with 2.9%, Taiwan with 2.7%, and Hong Kong with 2.7%, while other countries accounted for the remaining 20.6%.
The BSP noted, however, remittances coursed through money couriers cannot be disaggregated by actual country source and these are lodged under the country where the main offices are located, which is in the United States in many cases.
Personal remittances or the sum of transfers sent in cash or in-kind via informal channels came in at $2.975 billion, down from $3.130 billion in the previous month, but higher than the $2.859 billion in April 2024.
Year-to-date personal remittances were recorded at $12.372 billion, up from $12.010 billion in the comparable period of 2023. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
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