These were also larger than August’s $126.76-billion outflows and the $231.71 million that fled in September 2019. Hot money stayed in the negative territory in January to September, with net outflows at $4.4 billion, soaring by 238.46 percent from the year-ago amount. The Bangko Sentral expects net hot money inflows of $2.4 billion this year. Commenting on the data, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort attributed the latest outflows to “healthy profit-taking” in local markets, especially in fixed income markets. For the coming months, Ricafort said hot money could improve amid recent gains in the local financial markets, especially in the local stock market, after the House of Representatives approved the P4.5-trillion 2021 national budget.

Source: Manila Times October 29, 2020 16:30 UTC