BSP data: Remittances rebounded slightly in May

Remittance inflows from overseas Filipinos posted a slight rebound in May following the 11-month low recorded 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 $2.494 billion, higher than the $2.485 billion in April, and the $2.424 billion the same month last year.

Inflows from land-based workers grew by 2.9% to $1.99 billion, while those from sea-based workers rose by 2.4% to $51 million.

The United States accounted for the biggest share of inflows for the month with 41.0%, followed by Singapore with 7.1%, Saudi Arabia with 6.0%, Japan with 5.1%, and the United Kingdom with 4.7%.

They were followed by the United Arab Emirates with 4.0%, Canada with 3.4%, the Republic of Korea with 2.8%, Qatar with 2.8%, and Taiwan with 2.6%.

Other countries accounted for the remaining 20.5%.

Year-to-date cash remittances climbed 3.1% to $12.981 billion from $12.592 billion, on the back of higher inflows mainly from the United States, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, personal remittances — the sum of transfers sent in cash or in-kind via informal channels — increased to $2.782 billion from $2.773 billion in April, and $2.705 billion a year ago.

The BSP attributed the growth to higher remittances sent by land-based workers with contracts of one year or more, and land- and sea-based workers with contracts of less than a year.

Year-to-date personal remittances also increased by 3.1% to $14.459 billion from $14.022 billion. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News