Trade deficit drags PH payments position in September 2025

The Philippine balance of payments position saw a lower surplus in September due to the continued trade gap during the month, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday showed.

The central bank reported an $82-million BOP surplus for the month of September, lower than the $359-million surplus in August, and the $3.526-billion surplus in the same month of 2024.

The payments position takes into account Philippine transactions with the rest of the world during a specific period. A surplus means more funds entered the country, while a deficit means more funds exited.

“Preliminary data indicate that the year-to-date BOP deficit was largely due to the continued trade in goods deficit,” the BSP said in an accompanying statement.

Official trade figures for September have yet to be released, but data available from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that the balance of trade in goods posted a $883.39-million deficit in August, following the $965.25-million deficit in July.

“This was partly offset by the sustained net inflows from personal remittances from overseas Filipinos, trade in services, foreign direct and portfolio investments, and foreign borrowings by the national government,” it added.

Personal remittances stood at $3.307 billion in August, up by 3.2% from $3.204 billion the same month in 2024. The BSP has yet to release remittance figures for September.

The latest figures brought the year-to-date payments position to a $5.315-billion deficit, reversing the $5.117-billion surplus recorded in the comparable period of 2024.

The BSP said the overall BOP position is expected to post a $6.9-billion deficit or 1.4% of the gross domestic product (GDP) this year, wider than its initial forecast of $6.3 billion, due to the widening trade gap.

Gross international reserves stood at $109.1 billion as of end-September, up from $107.1 billion the previous month.

“The level of GIR remains an adequate external liquidity buffer,” the central bank said, equivalent to 7.3 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income, and covers about 3.8 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity. — BM, GMA Integrated News