Philippines’ national savings up 26.6% to P4.9T in 2022 —PSA

The Philippines’ total savings in 2022 rose to P4.90 trillion amid further normalcy and economic reopening following the hard lockdowns during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed Thursday.

PSA data showed the country’s gross savings stood at P4.90 trillion, up 26.6% from P3.87 trillion in 2021.

A country’s gross savings represent the sum total of individual, business, and government income minus expenditures.

Broken down, non-financial corporations comprised the highest gross savings at P4.16 trillion, followed by financial corporations with P1.54 trillion savings.

Meanwhile, general government and households recorded "dissaving" of P9 billion and P790 billion, respectively.

Dissaving means spending above income.

Sought for comment, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said that the growth in savings may be “attributed and correlated with the further reopening of the economy towards greater normalcy with no more large lockdowns since 2022 and policy priority of no more lockdowns going forward.”

“As a result, this increased employment/jobs/livelihood, sales/revenues, earnings/incomes, and other business/economic activities. All of which contributed to higher savings,” Ricafort said.

Likewise, the country’s gross national disposable income stood at P24.93 trillion, up 15.9% year-on-year. 

“Higher prices/inflation and higher interest rates also partly weighed on demand and partly contributed to higher savings,” Ricafort said.

“Going forward, the easing trend in inflation and eventually interest rates would help support higher disposable incomes and more savings,” he added.

Inflation, or the rate of increase in consumer goods and services costs, continued its decline in May, clocking in at 6.1% from 6.6% in April and bringing the year-to-date rate to 7.5%.

This is the fourth time that inflation dipped from a peak of 8.7% in January and its lowest since July 2022’s 6.4% rate. —VAL, GMA Integrated News